McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Acquired by Plato Investment Management Ltd

Plato Investment Management Ltd lifted its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,998 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 398 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,239,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $362.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $323.43.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $310,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,690. The trade was a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 4,487 shares of company stock valued at $1,395,970 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.3%

MCD stock opened at $298.44 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $305.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $305.46. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $212.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted 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 net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The business had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.75%.

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.