Aljian Capital Management LLC Invests $1.96 Million in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Aljian Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,440 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,961,000. McDonald's accounts for about 0.5% of Aljian Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 2nd quarter worth $38,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the third quarter valued at about $58,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the 2nd quarter valued at about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the second quarter worth $65,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This represents a 8.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on McDonald's from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.46.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:MCD traded down $1.53 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $291.10. The company had a trading volume of 2,865,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,506,575. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $300.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $277.60.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current 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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 58.65%.

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.