McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stock: Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Increases Position

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System raised its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 13.9% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 43,717 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,347 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,096,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth about $1,359,276,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 132.1% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,325,880 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $412,071,000 after purchasing an additional 754,596 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,752,921,000 after purchasing an additional 646,675 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in McDonald’s by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,637,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,130,587,000 after purchasing an additional 533,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascentis Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 23,222.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 478,103 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $129,236,000 after purchasing an additional 476,053 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $275.30 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $194.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a fifty day moving average of $249.73 and a 200 day moving average of $282.16. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $229.20 and a 1 year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.57 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.38% and a negative return on equity of 826.29%. The firm’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.22 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.91 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.93 per share. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 61.08%.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

These are some of the MCD stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s and Uber are expanding their delivery and loyalty partnership across 14 markets, including the U.S. and U.K. The effort could increase delivery orders, improve customer engagement and generate incremental sales. McDonald’s and Uber expand delivery and loyalty tie-up
• Neutral Sentiment: In Japan, new chicken sandwiches reportedly sold so well that the company pulled them. Strong demand is encouraging, but the item’s unavailability could limit sales until supply catches up. McDonald’s Japan pulls new chicken sandwiches after they sell too well
• Negative Sentiment: A market commentary says Treasury yields near 5% are pressuring valuations across stocks. Higher yields can make dividend-paying shares like MCD less attractive relative to bonds and weigh on valuation multiples. Bonds Are Paying 5% Again

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $260.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 30th. Freedom Capital raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $309.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $297.82.

About McDonald’s

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.