Viking Fund Management LLC Grows Stock Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Viking Fund Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 25.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,000 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Viking Fund Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $6,090,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $20,473,811,000 after acquiring an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in 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 worth $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its position in McDonald's by 39.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $305.04. 1,775,710 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,376,543. The company has a market capitalization of $218.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $290.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $272.56. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $306.96.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald's had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 58.44%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 31,751 shares of company stock valued at $9,493,973. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on McDonald's from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $310.50.

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.

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