Rafferty Asset Management LLC Trims Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Rafferty Asset Management LLC has reduced its holdings in McDonald's Corporation by 22.0% during the first quarter, owning 51,284 shares worth approximately $16 million after the cut.
• Institutional ownership of McDonald's stands at 70.29%, with other funds altering their positions, including J. Stern & Co. LLP increasing their stake by 37.2%.
• McDonald's announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 2.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for September 2nd.

Rafferty Asset Management LLC reduced its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 22.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 51,284 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 14,501 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $16,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the first quarter valued at $1,686,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in McDonald's by 37.2% during the 1st quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 12,081 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,774,000 after purchasing an additional 3,275 shares during the period. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 6.9% during the 1st quarter. Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. now owns 66,516 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $20,778,000 after buying an additional 4,311 shares during the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 149.3% in the 1st quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $585,000 after buying an additional 1,121 shares during the period. Finally, Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.8% in the first quarter. Potomac Fund Management Inc. ADV now owns 6,196 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,913,000 after buying an additional 653 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Erste Group Bank cut shares of McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Thirteen 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $326.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were 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 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. Insiders sold 7,341 shares of company stock worth $2,229,327 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.1%

MCD stock opened at $313.14 on Wednesday. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $306.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. McDonald's's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $1.77 per share. 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 payout ratio is 60.67%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.