Zions Bancorporation National Association UT Purchases New Holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• Zions Bancorporation National Association UT has purchased a new stake in McDonald's Corporation, acquiring 2,090 shares valued at approximately $653,000.
• Several institutional investors, including Townsquare Capital LLC and NBW Capital LLC, have significantly increased their positions in McDonald's, with ownership among institutional investors now at 70.29%.
• McDonald's reported earnings of $3.19 per share, exceeding analyst predictions, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, with a yield of 2.3%.

Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,090 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $653,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in McDonald's by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 61,272 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $19,140,000 after buying an additional 3,598 shares during the period. Founders Financial Alliance LLC boosted its position in McDonald's by 40.4% in the 1st quarter. Founders Financial Alliance LLC now owns 8,494 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,653,000 after buying an additional 2,443 shares during the period. NBW Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 82.5% in the 1st quarter. NBW Capital LLC now owns 42,406 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $13,246,000 after purchasing an additional 19,173 shares during the period. NS Partners Ltd lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. NS Partners Ltd now owns 128,443 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $40,122,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Savvy Advisors Inc. now owns 12,138 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,792,000 after purchasing an additional 1,078 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $326.87.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of McDonald's stock opened at $305.62 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $265.33 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.52. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $298.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $304.49.

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 (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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.97 EPS. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS 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 paid 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%.

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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