Balefire LLC Makes New Investment in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Balefire LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's Corporation, purchasing 1,186 shares valued at approximately $347,000.
• The latest quarterly earnings report showed McDonald's recorded $3.19 earnings per share, beating analyst expectations and achieving a revenue of $6.84 billion.
• McDonald's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Balefire LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,186 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $347,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $26,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MCD. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eleven 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.86.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $0.77 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $303.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 967,036 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,537,837. McDonald's Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $216.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.98, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.50. The firm's 50-day moving average is $306.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.41.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 99 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock worth $2,273,407. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.