McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Bought by First Horizon Advisors Inc.

First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 141,353 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,599 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises approximately 1.1% of First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $41,299,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $299.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $213.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $305.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.25.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 63.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCD. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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 Thursday, September 4th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.43.

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.