Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec Boosts Stock Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• The Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 7.5%, acquiring 7,993 shares to bring its total holdings to 114,528 shares valued at $35.8 million.
• Recent equity research shows mixed analyst ratings for McDonald's, with 13 analysts rating it as "Buy" and 14 as "Hold", alongside an average price target of $326.38.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, aligning with a 2.3% yield and a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec lifted its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 114,528 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 7,993 shares during the quarter. Federation des caisses Desjardins du Quebec's holdings in McDonald's were worth $35,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $30,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded down $2.69 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $314.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,533,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,961,695. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $303.87 and its 200-day simple moving average is $306.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $224.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 2.3%. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald'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 transaction of $281,221.11. Following 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,341 shares of company stock worth $2,544,327 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $325.35.

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.