Principal Street Partners LLC Buys 864 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Principal Street Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 62.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,250 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 864 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total value of $328,128.43. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,484 shares in the company, valued at $3,428,777.88. The trade was a 8.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $0.23 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $296.42. The company had a trading volume of 63,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,490,103. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $299.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.40. The company has a market capitalization of $212.42 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.65%.

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.