Creative Planning Acquires 4,480 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Creative Planning lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 329,417 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,480 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $100,311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $110,321,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 56.2% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 1,123,132 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $308,878,000 after purchasing an additional 403,958 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Guggenheim boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $315.69.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $316.56 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $228.14 billion, a PE ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $273.70. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.18.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.