Second Half Financial Partners LLC Takes Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Second Half Financial Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 6,495 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,978,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in McDonald's by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. 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. increased its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 39.7% during the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake 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 during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business'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 transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus raised McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on McDonald's from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $319.46.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.1 %

MCD stock traded down $0.42 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $290.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,352,483 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,501,425. The stock has a market cap of $208.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $300.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.60. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.44%. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.