Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 3.0% after selling 870 shares, ending with 28,324 shares valued at approximately $8.85 million.
• McDonald's reported $3.19 EPS for the latest quarter, exceeding estimates by $0.04, with revenues reaching $6.84 billion, a 5.4% increase compared to the previous year.
• The fast-food giant declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, payable on September 16th, representing an annualized payout of $7.08 and a 2.3% yield.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,324 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 870 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $8,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. First American Trust FSB grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 36,917 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $11,532,000 after acquiring an additional 13,234 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,788,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 345,319 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $107,867,000 after buying an additional 18,393 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $5,381,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Finally, Segment Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,672 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $17,078,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $1.9130 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $310.6130. The stock had a trading volume of 2,858,800 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,602,388. The stock has a market cap of $221.65 billion, a PE ratio of 26.62, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.31.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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 company's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. Research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $326.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total transaction of $296,216.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,187. This trade represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's 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.