National Pension Service Sells 114,360 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,495,271 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 114,360 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.21% of McDonald’s worth $436,873,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $26,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This trade represents a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. The trade was a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,134 shares of company stock valued at $4,570,716. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. Truist Financial reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, October 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $323.91.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $306.48 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $218.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $303.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.75. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

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.