Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 63.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 556,267 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 215,304 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $150,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group set a $305.00 price target on McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.44.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $276.05 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $260.96 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $196.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $274.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $296.58.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

About McDonald’s

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.