Welch Group LLC Raises Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 209,774 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,770 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises about 2.5% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $63,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 142.9% in the second 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 purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $316.38 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $225.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $307.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.87.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total value of $795,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,005,760. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $8,169,430. This represents a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,516 shares of company stock worth $13,036,090. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.