Candriam S.C.A. Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 93,691 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 8,656 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $29,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. Copia Wealth Management acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares in the company, valued at $2,392,187. This represents a 11.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 8,280 shares of company stock worth $2,525,178 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up previously from $345.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective (up previously from $325.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.87.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $313.13 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $223.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50-day moving average of $298.57 and a 200-day moving average of $305.40. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 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.