Waycross Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Waycross Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 20.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,799 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 10,354 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 2.1% of Waycross Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $18,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 988 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $309,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Security Financial Services INC. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,043 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northeast Financial Consultants Inc increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% 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, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 7,882 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,187. This trade represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $307.47 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $219.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.14, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $298.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.99. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $265.33 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.