Pacer Advisors Inc. Decreases Holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its holdings in McDonald's Corporation by 5.9%, selling 6,089 shares during the first quarter, leaving them with 97,412 shares valued at approximately $30.43 million.
• The fast-food giant plans to pay a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share on September 16th, representing an annualized yield of 2.37% and a payout ratio of 62.49%.
• McDonald's stock has a market capitalization of $213.26 billion and currently holds a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with an average price target of $322.00.

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 97,412 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 6,089 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $30,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm'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 represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on MCD shares. Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Argus downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $322.00.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock traded up $3.77 on Friday, reaching $298.25. 3,400,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,481,643. The company has a market capitalization of $213.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $250.23 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm's 50-day moving average is $301.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $303.13.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.