Ascent Group LLC Has $4.80 Million Stock Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Ascent Group LLC has decreased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 6.2%, now holding 16,439 shares valued at approximately $4.80 million.
• McDonald's reported earnings per share of $3.19 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $3.15, with a revenue of $6.84 billion.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, translating to an annual yield of 2.4%, with a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Ascent Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 6.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,439 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,085 shares during the period. Ascent Group LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $4,803,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,324,961,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in McDonald's by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in McDonald's by 19.6% during the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 815,768 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in McDonald's by 732.6% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 650,544 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $203,211,000 after purchasing an additional 572,408 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in McDonald's by 204.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 607,145 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $177,390,000 after purchasing an additional 407,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $300.72 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $306.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $306.17. 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 $214.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.50.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 4th. Argus cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $325.86.

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.

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