Independence Bank of Kentucky Trims Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Independence Bank of Kentucky lessened its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 8,333 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 251 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $1,324,961,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.8% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,341,460 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,917,993,000 after acquiring an additional 1,344,954 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 815,768 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 732.6% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 650,544 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $203,211,000 after acquiring an additional 572,408 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 204.8% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 607,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $177,390,000 after acquiring an additional 407,982 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $770,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 8,754 shares in the company, valued at $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.9%

MCD stock opened at $305.10 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $306.48 and a 200 day moving average of $306.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.72 billion, a PE ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.49. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Barclays increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, August 8th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $325.86.

About McDonald’s

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.