Stevens Capital Management LP Acquires New Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Stevens Capital Management LP acquired 5,804 shares of McDonald's Corporation worth approximately $1.81 million in the first quarter.
• Analyst upgrades for McDonald's include price targets raised by Barclays and BMO Capital Markets, with a consensus price target of $322.00.
• McDonald's established a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, reflecting a dividend yield of 2.40%, with the payout date set for September 16th.

Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,804 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $1,813,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded up $2.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $301.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,111,902 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,588,784. The stock has a market capitalization of $215.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $300.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.25. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $260.31 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Finally, Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $322.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.