McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stake Trimmed by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC lowered its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.7% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,809 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 51 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $529,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $300.09 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $214.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $276.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $306.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $306.19.

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. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value 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 $2,713,740. This trade represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $310,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 99 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $30,690. This trade represents a 90.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Loop Capital cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Truist Financial increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $325.86.

McDonald’s 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.