McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Acquired by First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.

First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,061 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 2.0% of First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $9,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Strong Tower Advisory Services increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the second quarter. Strong Tower Advisory Services now owns 8,547 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,497,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.1% in the second quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 4,229 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.2% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 16,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,882,000 after acquiring an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 7.7% during the second quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC now owns 5,657 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,653,000 after buying an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cascade Investment Group Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 9.8% during the second quarter. Cascade Investment Group Inc. now owns 742 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MCD shares. Argus downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Melius initiated coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.18.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1%

MCD stock opened at $297.07 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.31 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.