Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Purchases Shares of 18,155 McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 18,155 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $5,304,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $303.99 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $302.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.41. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $216.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,832.16. This represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This trade represents a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,329 shares of company stock valued at $5,237,811. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MCD. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s 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.