Northcape Wealth Management LLC Acquires 171 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Northcape Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,694 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 171 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,952,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $44,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $59,000. Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $65,000. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 433.3% in the 2nd quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0 %

MCD opened at $292.52 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $300.06 and its 200 day moving average is $277.42. The company has a market cap of $209.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.68, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.42%. 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 payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $900,550. This trade represents a 44.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company 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. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.