McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Purchased by Ethic Inc.

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 6.2% during the second quarter, owning 22,686 shares valued at approximately $6.6 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for McDonald's, with JPMorgan Chase raising their target from $305 to $310 and Barclays from $360 to $362, reflecting strong investor interest.
• McDonald's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, an increase from the previous dividend of $1.77, with a yield of 2.4%.

Ethic Inc. lifted its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 6.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,686 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,315 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $6,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 10.9% in the first quarter. Quotient Wealth Partners LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $817,000 after acquiring an additional 258 shares during the last quarter. SSA Swiss Advisors AG acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter worth approximately $175,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 25.3% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 11,198 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,498,000 after buying an additional 2,261 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Barclays boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on McDonald's in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Melius assumed coverage on McDonald's in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Eleven research 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, McDonald's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $324.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,692,186 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.8%

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.01 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $221.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $306.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $305.51.

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

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

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.

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