Simplicity Wealth LLC Purchases 9,842 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Simplicity Wealth LLC increased its holdings in McDonald's by 147.0%, bringing its total shares to 16,535 worth approximately $4.83 million.
• McDonald's reported a Q2 EPS of $3.19, surpassing expectations of $3.15 and achieving a 5.4% year-over-year revenue growth to $6.84 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, reflecting a 2.4% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Simplicity Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 147.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,535 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 9,842 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $4,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. OLD National Bancorp IN raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.4% during the second quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 35,834 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $10,470,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. MBL Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 4.5% during the second quarter. MBL Wealth LLC now owns 2,005 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $586,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 4.0% during the second quarter. Capital City Trust Co. FL now owns 9,459 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,764,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the period. Realta Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 21.0% during the second quarter. Realta Investment Advisors now owns 1,044 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $305,000 after buying an additional 181 shares during the period. Finally, Berger Financial Group Inc increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 7.3% during the second quarter. Berger Financial Group Inc now owns 2,619 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Argus cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $325.86.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock worth $2,273,407 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:MCD opened at $300.72 on Friday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $306.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $306.16. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $214.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

About McDonald's

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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