Vest Financial LLC Purchases 32,456 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Vest Financial LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 20.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 194,322 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 32,456 shares during the period. McDonald's comprises about 1.1% of Vest Financial LLC's holdings, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Vest Financial LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $59,173,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.4% during the third quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $433,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $513,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,057,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.7% in the second quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 4,980 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,269,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 9258 Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.3% in the first quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,833 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $799,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company's stock, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,221,233. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.6 %

McDonald's stock traded up $1.86 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $316.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,531,197 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,356,786. The company has a market cap of $228.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $294.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.69. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.18.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.71 earnings per share 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. This is a boost from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald's's payout ratio is 60.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald's from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. UBS Group increased their target price 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, July 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $315.69.

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.