Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 3,926 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Baillie Gifford & Co. reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 2.7%, selling 3,926 shares and holding a total of 144,028 shares valued at approximately $44.99 million.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with an annual yield of 2.37% and a payout ratio of 62.49%.
• McDonald's currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $322.00, despite experiencing a 3.5% year-over-year revenue decline.

Baillie Gifford & Co. lessened its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,028 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,926 shares during the period. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $44,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 39,039.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,982 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in McDonald's by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in McDonald's by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $211,824,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,992 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.2%

MCD traded up $0.48 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $303.15. 1,047,624 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,584,908. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $262.40 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $300.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $303.25. The company has a market capitalization of $216.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $322.00.

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.