McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 2.0%, selling 11,058 shares during the first quarter, and now holds 532,666 shares valued at approximately $166 million.
• McDonald's recently announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with a payout ratio of 60.67%, which will be paid on September 16th.
• Analysts have given mixed ratings for McDonald's, with two sell ratings, thirteen hold ratings, and thirteen buy ratings, resulting in a consensus target price of $326.87.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. lowered its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 532,666 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 11,058 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.07% of McDonald's worth $166,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total transaction of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,187. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $308.76. 3,404,072 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,615,138. The firm has a market cap of $220.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $274.70 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $298.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $304.85.

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 the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Truist Financial increased their price objective on McDonald's from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $326.87.

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.