Harfst & Associates Inc. Takes $621,000 Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Harfst & Associates Inc. acquired 1,987 shares of McDonald's Corporation in Q1, valued at approximately $621,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the fast-food giant.
• McDonald's recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $3.19 for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate and showcasing a year-over-year revenue increase of 5.4% to $6.84 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, set to be paid on September 16th, with a dividend yield of 2.3% based on a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Harfst & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,987 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $621,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,019,019 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,454,963,000 after purchasing an additional 504,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 19.6% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after purchasing an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 1.2%

MCD traded up $3.5820 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $312.2820. 1,157,067 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,596,991. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.14 and a 200 day moving average of $305.31. The firm has a market cap of $222.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52.

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 net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. BTIG Research restated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.87.

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.