Sterling Financial Planning Inc. Grows Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Sterling Financial Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,000 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Sterling Financial Planning Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $292,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First American Trust FSB raised its position in McDonald’s by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. First American Trust FSB now owns 36,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,532,000 after purchasing an additional 13,234 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its position in McDonald’s by 58.0% in the 1st quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 248,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $71,829,000 after purchasing an additional 91,313 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 35.2% in the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $982,000 after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Red Door Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Red Door Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,724 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,788,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in McDonald’s by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 345,319 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $107,867,000 after buying an additional 18,393 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Eleven 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.73.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were 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 directly owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.59 on Wednesday. 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 cap of $217.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $306.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.63.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.