Prudential PLC Has $25.55 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Prudential PLC boosted its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 81,787 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,848 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $25,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MCD shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.87.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $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 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.3%

MCD opened at $304.39 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $298.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.76. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $265.33 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $217.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 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 net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.67%.

McDonald’s Company 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.