Heritage Financial Services LLC Increases Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Heritage Financial Services LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 86.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up approximately 0.2% of Heritage Financial Services LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Heritage Financial Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 17,057 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,194,000 after purchasing an additional 1,122 shares during the period. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. Moody Lynn & Lieberson LLC now owns 43,994 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $13,397,000 after buying an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth about $1,179,000. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 52.4% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,288 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,610,000 after acquiring an additional 1,818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DT Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. DT Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,610 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,404,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Baird R W lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $301.61 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $217.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $296.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.51. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’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 value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.