DnB Asset Management AS Grows Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 26.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,886 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 38,780 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $58,690,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,409,095 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,993,689,000 after acquiring an additional 239,753 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.8% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,917,993,000 after purchasing an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.1% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,965,159 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,800,447,000 after purchasing an additional 97,966 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,019,019 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,454,963,000 after purchasing an additional 504,085 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 19.6% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,982,825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,556,485,000 after buying an additional 815,768 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $316.28 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $225.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.50. The business’s 50 day moving average is $302.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.33. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $276.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 6,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 8,341 shares of company stock valued at $2,544,327. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on MCD. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Loop Capital lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Redburn Atlantic restated a “sell” rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $325.35.

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.