Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Purchases 14,279 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 2.5%, owning a total of 592,094 shares valued at approximately $184.95 million.
• Several institutional investors have recently increased their holdings in McDonald's, with a reported 70.29% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• McDonald's declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, contributing to an annualized yield of 2.3%, with the dividend payout ratio currently at 62.49%.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 2.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 592,094 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 14,279 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.08% of McDonald's worth $184,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in McDonald's by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its stake in McDonald's by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 209,464 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $60,722,000 after purchasing an additional 27,774 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in McDonald's by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,677 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,255,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors raised its stake in McDonald's by 28.9% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 8,605 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,495,000 after purchasing an additional 1,930 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and issued a $260.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value 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. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.9%

McDonald's stock opened at $302.88 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.66. The company has a market cap of $216.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $265.33 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The firm's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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 62.49%.

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.

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