Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 815,768 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald's shares by 19.6% during the first quarter, owning approximately 4.98 million shares valued at around $1.56 billion.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, representing an annualized total of $7.08 with a dividend yield of 2.4%.
• The stock price of McDonald's is currently down 1.7%, with a recent market cap of $213.74 billion and a P/E ratio of 26.38.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 19.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 815,768 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 0.70% of McDonald's worth $1,556,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Red Door Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald's by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,788,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 345,319 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $107,867,000 after buying an additional 18,393 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 22.9% during the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $5,381,000 after buying an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Segment Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald's by 1.7% in the first quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 54,672 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $17,078,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Waters Wealth Management purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $864,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of McDonald's stock traded down $2.29 on Friday, reaching $305.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,621,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $265.33 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $298.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.33. The company has a market capitalization of $218.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $326.87.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald'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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.