Sciencast Management LP Makes New $3.56 Million Investment in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Sciencast Management LP has made a new investment of $3.56 million in McDonald's Corporation, acquiring 11,394 shares which now represents 0.8% of its investment portfolio.
• Several institutional investors, including Goldman Sachs and Vanguard Group, have increased their holdings in McDonald's, indicating strong interest from the investment community.
• McDonald's reported $3.19 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations and forecasting a dividend payout of $1.77 per share, which reflects a 2.3% yield.

Sciencast Management LP bought a new stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 11,394 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,559,000. McDonald's accounts for 0.8% of Sciencast Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald's by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in McDonald's by 16.8% in the first 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 during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in McDonald's by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 11.2% in the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 815,768 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,341 shares of company stock worth $2,544,327. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $314.30 on Monday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $303.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.51. McDonald's Corporation has a 1-year low of $276.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $224.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.49.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. McDonald's's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $325.35.

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.

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