Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Grows Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 6.8%, owning 19,109 shares valued at approximately $5,969,000 as of the latest reporting period.
• McDonald's reported earnings of $3.19 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and generating revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, a 5.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.3%, reflecting a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,109 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 1,222 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $5,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:MCD opened at $314.30 on Monday. McDonald's Corporation has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $224.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $303.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.51.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 company 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.97 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. 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 report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Melius assumed coverage on McDonald's in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 price target (up previously from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.35.

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.

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