Vanguard Group Inc. Purchases 921,936 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 921,936 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of McDonald’s worth $20,840,787,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the period. Security Financial Services INC. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,043 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. AGP Franklin LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the first quarter. AGP Franklin LLC now owns 10,001 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,125,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% in the first quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.6% during the first quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $304.80 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $303.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $304.47. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.06 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 63.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Mizuho raised McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. 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.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $323.91.

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.