Advisors Asset Management Inc. Purchases 2,799 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Advisors Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 7.5%, owning 39,892 shares worth approximately $12.46 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds now hold 70.29% of McDonald's stock, indicating strong institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for McDonald's stock, with BMO Capital Markets setting a new price objective of $350, reflecting positive outlook on the company's performance.

Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 7.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 39,892 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 2,799 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $12,461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.35.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $314.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,533,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,961,695. The business's 50-day moving average is $303.87 and its 200-day moving average is $306.48. The stock has a market cap of $224.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

About McDonald's

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.