Cynosure Group LLC Buys Shares of 710 McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cynosure Group LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm purchased 710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $121,254,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3,846.9% in the 2nd quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 273,640 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $69,734,000 after acquiring an additional 266,707 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, 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 value of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $296.01 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $299.96 and its 200-day moving average is $278.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, equities research 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 disclosed 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. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.