Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 3,279 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 18.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,225 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,279 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,463,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $110,321,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $277.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 8.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.