McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Acquired by Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.

Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,925 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the quarter. Richards Merrill & Peterson Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,344,954 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,800,447,000 after buying an additional 97,966 shares during the period. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% in 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, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in 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 worth $1,556,485,000 after purchasing an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $306.05 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $306.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $305.61. The stock has a market cap of $218.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, 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 value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total transaction of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This trade represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,692,186 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Citigroup reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $324.50.

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.