NewEdge Advisors LLC Purchases 114,529 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 77.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 262,557 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 114,529 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $81,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Peterson Wealth Services raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3,294.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 11,779 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after buying an additional 11,432 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 35,510 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,853,000 after acquiring an additional 16,252 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl grew its position in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 64,256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $19,639,000 after acquiring an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $7,493,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 21.9% during the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,487 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Citigroup upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $260.00 to $306.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.44.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $276.05 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $260.96 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $274.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $296.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $196.13 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 512.80% and a net margin of 31.72%.The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,348 shares of company stock worth $2,355,634 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Quarterly profit exceeded expectations. McDonald’s reported adjusted earnings of $3.38 per share, above the $3.32 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 3.7% year over year to $7.10 billion. The earnings beat and 31.7% net margin provide support for the stock. McDonald’s posts strong second quarter profit, names new leader for US market
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support and income appeal remain intact. BTIG reaffirmed its Buy rating with a $350 price target, while the stock’s dividend and consensus Moderate Buy view may attract investors after the recent weakness. BTIG rating reaffirmed
• Positive Sentiment: Management is taking corrective action. McDonald’s appointed a new U.S. leader and is reviewing value offers, digital promotions, restaurant workloads and marketing execution. Stronger international performance could help offset domestic softness. MCD Q2 Earnings Call Flags U.S. Execution Gaps
• Neutral Sentiment: Price targets were reduced but remain above the current level. Morgan Stanley, RBC and Baird lowered their targets to $319, $295 and $285, respectively, citing a more cautious near-term outlook. Their ratings range from Equal Weight to Neutral. Analyst price-target changes
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. growth remains the central concern. Domestic comparable sales rose only 0.8% in the second quarter, and management acknowledged that the current value menu is too complicated and that reduced digital discounts have hurt traffic. Lower-income customers are also spending less at McDonald’s. McDonald’s Looks to Fix a Value Misfire
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure is increasing. Burger King is gaining U.S. sales momentum after revamping its Whopper, while McDonald’s expansion toward 50,000 restaurants is taking longer than planned because of economic conditions. Burger King’s US sales surge while McDonald’s growth flails

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.