Copley Financial Group Inc. Takes $684,000 Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Copley Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 2,246 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $684,000. McDonald's comprises 0.6% of Copley Financial Group Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in McDonald's by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD acquired a new stake in McDonald's in the 2nd quarter valued at $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in McDonald's in the third quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in McDonald's by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 49,885 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,428,777.88. This represents a 8.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 34,099 shares of company stock worth $10,273,786 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.0 %

McDonald's stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $296.60. 2,547,703 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,467,182. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $298.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $281.09. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm has a market cap of $212.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 11.75 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $320.50.

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.