Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,293 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $395,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $58,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $296.60 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $212.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $281.09. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current 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 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 yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCD. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird cut McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $320.50.

About McDonald’s

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.