Founders Financial Alliance LLC Buys 2,443 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Founders Financial Alliance LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 40.4%, purchasing an additional 2,443 shares, bringing their total holdings to 8,494 shares worth approximately $2.65 million.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77, with a payout ratio of 60.67%, representing a yield of 2.3%.
• Despite a net margin of 32.21%, McDonald's faced a decrease in insider holdings, with notable sales from executives totaling over $2.2 million in the last quarter.

Founders Financial Alliance LLC lifted its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 40.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,494 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $2,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in McDonald's by 0.3% during 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 period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake 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 worth $3,088,037,000 after acquiring an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 worth $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake 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 worth $1,454,963,000 after acquiring an additional 504,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake 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 worth $1,556,485,000 after acquiring an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Melius initiated coverage on McDonald's in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $345.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $326.87.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE MCD traded down $2.29 on Friday, reaching $305.62. 2,621,959 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $298.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.49. The company has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a 12 month low of $265.33 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%. McDonald's's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total transaction of $296,216.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,187. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.