Simplicity Wealth LLC Buys 9,842 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Simplicity Wealth LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 147.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,535 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,842 shares during the quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,831,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 price objective (up from $325.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Twelve equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $325.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 $2,713,740. The trade was a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 7,402 shares of company stock valued at $2,273,407. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $300.72 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $214.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.50. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $306.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $306.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.97 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

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.