Moors & Cabot Inc. Lowers Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Moors & Cabot Inc. reduced its stake in McDonald's by 15.5%, selling 2,369 shares and bringing its holdings to 12,909 shares valued at approximately $4,032,000.
• Analysts have mixed views on McDonald's stock, with Barclays raising the price target to $355 while Loop Capital downgraded it to $315.
• McDonald's recently declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, resulting in an annual yield of 2.4%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Moors & Cabot Inc. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 15.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,909 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 2,369 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $4,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in McDonald's by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,454,963,000 after purchasing an additional 504,085 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 4,595,245 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,332,116,000 after purchasing an additional 226,752 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,501,727 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,304,965,000 after buying an additional 74,250 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business'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 transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold a total of 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $323.39.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $2.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $302.88. The company had a trading volume of 3,324,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,008. McDonald's Corporation has a 12 month low of $265.33 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $299.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $303.66. The company has a market cap of $216.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52.

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, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid 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 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.