Equitable Trust Co. Lowers Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Equitable Trust Co. decreased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 14.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,363 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,009 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,073,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $1,324,961,000. 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. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased 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 last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 732.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 572,408 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 204.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 607,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $177,390,000 after acquiring an additional 407,982 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $300.10 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $214.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $306.23 and a 200-day moving average price of $305.64.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $2.97 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 6,402 shares of company stock worth $1,973,407. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MCD. Guggenheim dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial upped their price target on McDonald’s from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $325.18.

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.