Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Lowers Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 0.3%, holding 1,097,866 shares worth approximately $342.94 million.
• McDonald's reported earnings per share of $3.19 for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and the company is forecasted to post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
• The recently announced quarterly dividend of $1.77 will be paid on September 16th, representing a 2.3% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 60.67%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. lowered its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,097,866 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,735 shares during the period. McDonald's makes up approximately 1.7% of Bahl & Gaynor Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.15% of McDonald's worth $342,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,324,961,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 39,039.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,092,645,000 after buying an additional 3,488,982 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings 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 worth $2,917,993,000 after buying an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded down $0.89 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $313.18. 2,934,831 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,499,843. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $223.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $299.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.05.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, August 8th. Thirteen investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.38.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,341 shares of company stock worth $2,229,327 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.