Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Has $10.53 Million Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Maryland State Retirement & Pension System reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 13.2%, selling 5,146 shares, leaving it with 33,696 shares valued at approximately $10.5 million.
• In its recent financial report, McDonald's exceeded earnings expectations with $3.19 earnings per share compared to the estimated $3.15, and reported quarterly revenue of $6.84 billion, also exceeding predictions.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, to be paid on September 16, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.3%.

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lessened its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 13.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,696 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 5,146 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System's holdings in McDonald's were worth $10,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, June 5th. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday. 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.87.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded down $2.29 on Friday, hitting $305.62. 2,621,959 shares of the stock were exchanged, 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 company has a market capitalization of $218.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average is $298.57 and its 200 day moving average is $304.33.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald's had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.97 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors 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 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 9,283 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by 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.