Apella Capital LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 66.0%, owning 11,950 shares valued at $3.51 million after purchasing an additional 4,751 shares in the second quarter.
• Analysts generally have a mixed outlook on McDonald's, with an average price target of $325.14, while the stock has received ratings of Buy from 11 analysts, Hold from 14, and Sell from 2.
• McDonald's reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.19, surpassing the consensus estimate, and is set to distribute a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share on September 16th.

Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 66.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,950 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,751 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $3,508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald's in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the 1st quarter worth $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. Citigroup raised their target price on McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.86.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $302.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,689,476 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,880,444. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $306.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.45. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $215.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.90, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was 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.