New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust Buys New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust acquired a new position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 713 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $217,000. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 0.4% of New Jersey Better Educational Savings Trust’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its position in McDonald’s by 4.9% in the first quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 13,821 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,897,000 after acquiring an additional 644 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 37.2% during the first quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 65,663 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,514,000 after acquiring an additional 17,809 shares during the period. Heritage Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 10.2% during the 1st quarter. Heritage Wealth Advisors now owns 96,227 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $27,131,000 after purchasing an additional 8,925 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 0.6% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 23,251 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,556,000 after buying an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of MCD opened at $298.97 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $276.64. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $214.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 58.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.46.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.