Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,247 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $989,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its stake in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fayez Sarofim & Co increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the first quarter. Fayez Sarofim & Co now owns 2,273,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $640,972,000 after purchasing an additional 8,475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $316.53 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.18. The stock has a market cap of $228.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $294.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $273.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.10%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

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.