McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Sonata Capital Group Inc.

Sonata Capital Group Inc. reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 28.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,253 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Sonata Capital Group Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $366,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $30,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $310.01 on Thursday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $221.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.50. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $306.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $305.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.67%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,463 shares of company stock valued at $1,692,186 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday. Guggenheim reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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, Barclays raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.50.

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.