Element Capital Management LLC Invests $2.72 Million in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Element Capital Management LLC purchased 8,700 shares of McDonald's Corporation for approximately $2.72 million in the first quarter, marking a new position in the fast-food giant's stock.
• McDonald's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with an ex-dividend date set for September 2nd, indicating a 2.3% yield.
• McDonald's shares opened at $308.64, with a recent earnings per share of $3.19 for the quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and reflecting a 5.4% revenue increase year-over-year.

Element Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,700 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $2,718,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter valued at about $1,324,961,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after buying an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.9130 on Tuesday, hitting $310.6130. The stock had a trading volume of 2,875,391 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,602,388. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company's 50 day moving average price is $298.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.31.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 7,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,392,187. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the business's 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 in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $326.87.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.