AE Wealth Management LLC Grows Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

AE Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 221,118 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,532 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $56,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Gilbert & Cook Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 20.7% in the fourth quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the period. Aveo Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $829,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 99.3% during the fourth quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,892 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,722,000 after acquiring an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 272.9% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 22,983 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,815,000 after acquiring an additional 16,819 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,193 shares of company stock valued at $1,403,593. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $306.11.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

MCD opened at $293.85 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $276.44 and its 200-day moving average is $270.84. The stock has a market cap of $211.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

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.