Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 14.3% during the first quarter, owning approximately 800,143 shares valued at about $249.9 million.
• McDonald's reported a quarterly EPS of $2.67, meeting analysts' expectations, but its revenue was down 3.5% year-over-year, totaling $5.96 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend yield of 2.34% with a payout ratio of 62.49%.

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 14.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 800,143 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 99,856 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.11% of McDonald's worth $249,941,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $30,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the first quarter worth about $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.39.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded down $3.31 on Thursday, hitting $300.30. 3,619,632 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,222,961. The firm has a market cap of $214.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.50, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $262.40 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $299.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $303.37.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

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.