McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Bought by Covington Investment Advisors Inc.

Covington Investment Advisors Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 30,079 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up about 1.4% of Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Covington Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $9,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Elios Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $1,053,000. West Tower Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $305,000. Capital Square LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.6% during the third quarter. Capital Square LLC now owns 1,430 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $435,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the third quarter. Wiser Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,279 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,303,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in McDonald’s by 11.3% in the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 18,516 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,638,000 after buying an additional 1,877 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,498 shares of company stock worth $10,381,296 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $296.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $299.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $278.40.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.