Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. Sells 22,639 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 16.2%, selling 22,639 shares, resulting in ownership of 116,865 shares valued at approximately $36.5 million.
• McDonald's reported quarterly earnings of $3.19 per share and revenue of $6.84 billion, exceeding expectations and marking a 5.4% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, indicating a yield of 2.3% with a payout ratio of 60.67%.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. decreased its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 16.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 116,865 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 22,639 shares during the quarter. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $36,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,088,037,000 after acquiring an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,454,963,000 after acquiring an additional 504,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,556,485,000 after acquiring an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. KeyCorp reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $335.00 target price (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McDonald's from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.87.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock traded up $2.6850 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $313.6150. 2,750,757 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,602,057. McDonald's Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.87, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $298.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $305.35.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.McDonald's's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,525,178. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.