Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Purchases 27,441 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 34.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,441 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $27,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $4,286,000. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,612,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,180,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $350,157,000 after acquiring an additional 15,863 shares during the period. Keystone Financial Group lifted its position in McDonald’s by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Keystone Financial Group now owns 8,995 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,667,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brevan Howard Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,223,000 after acquiring an additional 6,031 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $296.53 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The company has a market capitalization of $213.70 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $272.89 and a 200-day moving average of $270.47.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock worth $1,689,073. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $305.37.

About McDonald’s

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.