McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in McDonald's by 10.9%, now owning approximately 1.41 million shares valued at $440.99 million.
• McDonald's reported a 5.4% year-over-year revenue increase for the latest quarter, achieving $6.84 billion and earnings per share of $3.19, slightly above expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with a payout ratio of 62.49%, set to be paid on September 16th.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,411,750 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 138,382 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.20% of McDonald's worth $440,988,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $350.00 price target (up from $345.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday. Bank of America decreased their price target on McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, Loop Capital cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $326.87.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of MCD stock traded down $2.29 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $305.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,621,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $265.33 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $304.33.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is 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.