Avestar Capital LLC Has $1.20 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Avestar Capital LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,930 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $44,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $65,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $296.07 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $278.40. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. Tigress Financial raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Truist Financial lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.