QRG Capital Management Inc. Trims Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 96,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,051 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $25,951,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 41.3% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 23,867 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,451,000 after purchasing an additional 6,980 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,752,921,000 after buying an additional 646,675 shares in the last quarter. Security National Bank of Sioux City Iowa IA bought a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.6% during the second quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 15,607 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,219,000 after acquiring an additional 537 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bullseye Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $133,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s unveiled its “NEXT” strategy, including restaurant remodels, improved employee training, better food and service, and technology upgrades intended to improve productivity, operating margins and market share through 2030. McDonald’s will spend big on restaurant upgrades, training to drive growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company is betting on hand-breaded and grilled chicken, wraps, egg bites and bowls to capture demand for more protein and varied portions, while AI-enabled ordering and drive-thru systems such as ArchIQ could improve restaurant efficiency. More tech and hand-breaded chicken coming to McDonald’s
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is testing a restaurant media network that could eventually become a $1 billion advertising business, creating a potentially high-margin revenue stream from digital menu boards and drive-thru displays. Why McDonald’s is following Walmart and Amazon into the advertising business

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Freedom Capital upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler set a $286.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $282.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.04.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $12.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $238.11. The stock had a trading volume of 16,552,168 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,095,871. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $264.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $282.34. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $234.03 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $168.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.72% and a negative return on equity of 572.06%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.93 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. This represents a $7.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.44%.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.