McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Holdings Lifted by Hilton Capital Management LLC

Hilton Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.0% of Hilton Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $6,612,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $1,394,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 17.1% in the 3rd quarter. Quintet Private Bank Europe S.A. now owns 49,318 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,018,000 after acquiring an additional 7,200 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $290.68 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $300.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $277.75. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $208.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Company 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.