Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $62.34 Million Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1,975.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 204,636 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 194,774 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $62,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $38,000. Hara Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,000. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $59,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The trade was a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Barclays lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird downgraded shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.64.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $296.01 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $212.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $299.96 and its 200 day simple moving average is $279.04.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 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.