AIA Group Ltd Increases Stock Position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

AIA Group Ltd boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 28.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 25,962 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 5,750 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Abound Financial LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was 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 approximately $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Argus downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Melius assumed coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “sell” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $326.87.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $305.62 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $265.33 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $298.57 and a 200-day moving average of $304.63.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its 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. The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

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.