Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 422 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Meritage Portfolio Management trimmed its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 8.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 422 shares during the quarter. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,303,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth approximately $1,324,961,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 16.8% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,917,993,000 after buying an additional 1,344,954 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% during 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 buying an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 732.6% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 650,544 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $203,211,000 after purchasing an additional 572,408 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 204.8% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 607,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $177,390,000 after purchasing an additional 407,982 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $297.07 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.50. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $306.31 and its 200-day moving average is $305.69. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.97 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 22nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on McDonald’s from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $325.18.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.