Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV Acquires 871 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,675 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the period. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,705,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. KLR Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $514,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Equitable Holdings Inc. now owns 9,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,747,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,593,600 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $445,586,000 after purchasing an additional 20,500 shares during the period. Clough Capital Partners L P lifted its position in McDonald’s by 44.1% in the first quarter. Clough Capital Partners L P now owns 8,500 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,377,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisor Partners II LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% during the first quarter. Advisor Partners II LLC now owns 38,288 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,706,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the period. 67.60% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 21st. Bank of America upped their price target on McDonald’s from $319.00 to $343.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 28th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, July 27th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $308.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 4,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.02, for a total value of $1,265,423.74. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,041,867.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.52, for a total transaction of $868,560.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,605 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $464,679.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 4,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.02, for a total value of $1,265,423.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,041,867.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 18,149 shares of company stock valued at $5,257,201. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $0.29 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $279.51. 308,174 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,532,970. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $230.58 and a one year high of $299.35. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $288.64 and a 200 day moving average of $285.63. The company has a market cap of $203.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.64.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The fast-food giant reported $3.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.77 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.30 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.06% and a negative return on equity of 139.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.55 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 1st will be issued a $1.52 dividend. This represents a $6.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 31st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 55.93%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company's restaurants offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, fries, salads, shakes, frozen desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, bakery items, soft drinks, coffee, and beverages and other beverages, as well as breakfast menu, including muffins, Sausages, biscuit and bagel sandwiches, oatmeal, hash browns, breakfast burritos and hotcakes.