McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Acquired by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Key Points

• Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in McDonald's by 16.8%, purchasing 1,344,954 additional shares, which brought its total ownership to 9,341,460 shares valued at approximately $2.92 billion.
• McDonald's reported an EPS of $3.19 for the quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with quarterly revenue of $6.84 billion, a 5.4% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, resulting in a 2.3% yield and reflecting a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 16.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 1.31% of McDonald's worth $2,917,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in McDonald's by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in McDonald's by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 504,085 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position 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 purchasing an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in McDonald's by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,664,299 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,456,987,000 after purchasing an additional 386,392 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,229,327 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MCD. TD Cowen upped their price objective on McDonald's from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $326.38.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $0.5810 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $313.8010. The stock had a trading volume of 2,796,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,530,048. The firm's 50 day moving average is $299.02 and its 200 day moving average is $305.84. McDonald's Corporation has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

McDonald's 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.