Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Buys 38,669 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 96.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,751 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 38,669 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB's holdings in McDonald's were worth $23,980,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald's by 2.0% in the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC grew its stake in McDonald's by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GDS Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $296.52. 2,040,313 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,471,007. McDonald's Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $299.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $280.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald's from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Argus raised McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $320.50.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $1,781,937.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,403 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,121,716.12. This represents a 22.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.