J. Stern & Co. LLP Makes New $2.31 Million Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

J. Stern & Co. LLP purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,583 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $2,309,000. McDonald’s comprises 0.2% of J. Stern & Co. LLP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 40.0% in the 1st quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 1,050 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $296,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 109.0% during the 1st quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP now owns 1,549 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 808 shares during the period. Dynasty Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $473,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This trade represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction 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 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1 %

MCD traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $295.86. 136,228 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,490,136. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $299.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.40. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.