776 Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Purchased by Tranquility Partners LLC

Tranquility Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 776 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors boosted its stake 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 valued at $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares during the period. Finally, Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $110,321,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. This represents a 44.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $290.68 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $300.04 and a 200 day moving average of $277.75. The company has a market capitalization of $208.31 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS 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 company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

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.