Wendell David Associates Inc. Reduces Stock Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Wendell David Associates Inc. lowered its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,252 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 428 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 2.2% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $21,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised 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 period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised 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 period. Northern Trust Corp raised 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 period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised 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 period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,556,485,000 after purchasing an additional 815,768 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,713,740. This represents 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 Stock Up 0.9%

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.02 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $306.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $219.80 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price target on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $324.68.

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.