Palisade Asset Management LLC Has $15.88 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Palisade Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 52,155 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 273 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.6% of Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $15,882,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Canopy Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.3% during the third quarter. Canopy Partners LLC now owns 3,407 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,037,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 56,987 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $17,353,000 after buying an additional 2,887 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 448,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $136,627,000 after buying an additional 28,001 shares during the last quarter. Certified Advisory Corp grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Certified Advisory Corp now owns 1,493 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $455,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 26.8% in the 3rd quarter. Great Valley Advisor Group Inc. now owns 61,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,614,000 after acquiring an additional 12,917 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird cut shares of McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. 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, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.46.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,498 shares of company stock valued at $10,381,296 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $290.30 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $208.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.49, a PEG ratio of 3.84 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $299.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $278.06. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current 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 2.44%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 58.65%.

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.