Liberty One Investment Management LLC Acquires 10,727 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Liberty One Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 13.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 90,393 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,727 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises approximately 2.9% of Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Liberty One Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $28,093,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Purpose Unlimited Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1,616.7% in the 4th quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 103 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634 in the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MCD. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 17th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Weiss Ratings cut McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $331.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.12.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $262.70 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $260.96 and a one year high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.11.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 61.34%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.