McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 342,547 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 7,654 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $104,309,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA now owns 4,112 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,252,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $31,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 22,053 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,715,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $5,555,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 35,597 shares of company stock worth $10,702,754 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $295.02 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $299.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.67. The stock has a market cap of $211.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.46.

About McDonald’s

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.