Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Grows Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.1% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 213,282 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,319 shares during the quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $57,652,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $22,112,675,000 after acquiring an additional 703,458 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,895,768,000 after purchasing an additional 277,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,890,438,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cfra raised McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Barclays cut their target price on McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.44.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $272.28 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $273.95 and a 200 day moving average of $295.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.41. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $260.96 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 512.80% and a net margin of 31.72%.The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.44%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock worth $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Nationwide menu initiatives, including new energy-focused beverages, seven menu additions, and the limited-time Hello Kitty and Godzilla Happy Meal promotion, could support traffic, customer engagement, and comparable-sales growth. McDonald’s serving up new kind of energy boost on menus nationwide
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts see potential upside toward the mid-$300s if McDonald’s improves U.S. same-store sales and executes its McDonald’s NEXT strategy effectively. The company also continues to benefit from its large franchise and real-estate platform. McDonald’s stock gets fair value trim as analysts split on U.S. execution

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.