Ransom Advisory Ltd Takes $3.48 Million Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 11,154 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $3,484,000. McDonald’s accounts for about 1.7% of Ransom Advisory Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after purchasing an additional 239,753 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 5,142,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,606,354,000 after purchasing an additional 123,454 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th 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 valued at $1,454,963,000 after purchasing an additional 504,085 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $312.63 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $306.61. The firm has a market cap of $223.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.49.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis 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 60.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, August 8th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $325.14.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. This represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.