Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,205 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 173 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $644,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 sold 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upped their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on McDonald’s from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.18.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $297.07 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $306.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.74. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio 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.