Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. Increases Stock Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 92 shares during the quarter. Financial Synergies Wealth Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.68.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,402 shares of company stock worth $1,973,407 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.9%

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.02 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $306.29 and a 200-day moving average of $305.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.50.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

About McDonald’s

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.