Park Avenue Securities LLC Makes New Investment in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Park Avenue Securities LLC invested approximately $6.63 million in McDonald's Corporation by acquiring 22,681 shares during the second quarter.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3%.
• Analysts have raised their price targets for McDonald's stock, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $325.86.

Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 22,681 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $6,627,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,324,961,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 39,039.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 19.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after acquiring an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $211,824,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.4%

McDonald's stock traded up $1.09 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $303.47. 3,637,178 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,025,440. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $306.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $306.29. The firm has a market cap of $216.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.49. McDonald's Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Redburn Atlantic restated a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.86.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.