Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Purchases 447 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,720 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 447 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $290.28 on Monday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $299.85 and a 200-day moving average of $278.20. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $208.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.44%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The trade was a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.