Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Holdings in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 1.7%, selling 1,253 shares, and now holds 70,819 shares valued at approximately $20.69 million.
• Analysts have mixed views on McDonald's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target of $325.86; Truist Financial and TD Cowen have raised their price objectives, while Redburn Atlantic and Loop Capital have issued lower targets.
• McDonald's recently reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $3.19, exceeding expectations, alongside a declared quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, indicating a strong financial position despite a mix of analyst ratings.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. reduced its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,819 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,253 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $20,691,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in McDonald's by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $563,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 15.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 209,464 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $60,722,000 after buying an additional 27,774 shares during the last quarter. GHE LLC raised its stake in shares of 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, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Loop Capital cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial increased their target price on McDonald's from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on McDonald's from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald's from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $325.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $1.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $303.47. 3,637,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,025,440. The company's 50 day moving average is $306.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.56 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.49. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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

About McDonald's

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.