Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Stock Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its shareholding in McDonald's by 0.3%, acquiring an additional 239,753 shares, bringing its total ownership to 70,409,095 shares, valued at approximately $22 billion.
• McDonald's declared a quarterly dividend of $1.77, to be paid on September 16th, which represents an annualized yield of 2.4% and a payout ratio of 62.49%.
• Analysts have varying ratings for McDonald's stock, with Goldman Sachs upgrading it to a "buy" and setting a target price of $345.00, while others have downgraded their ratings.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 0.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 239,753 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 9.85% of McDonald's worth $21,993,689,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in McDonald's by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 15.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 209,464 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $60,722,000 after buying an additional 27,774 shares in the last quarter. GHE LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. GHE LLC now owns 14,677 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,255,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in McDonald's by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 4,201 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,218,000 after buying an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the sale, the insider 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were 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 owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Argus downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "sell" rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.87.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $2.29 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $305.62. The stock had a trading volume of 2,621,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,681,905. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $265.33 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The business's fifty day moving average price is $298.57 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.33.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly 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 Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

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.