Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 129,836 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 327 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $39,537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $110,321,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $121,254,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were 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 directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $296.52 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.49 billion, a PE ratio of 26.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s fifty day moving average is $299.03 and its 200 day moving average is $280.82.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Tigress Financial increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.50.

McDonald’s 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.