Baker Avenue Asset Management LP Sells 23,775 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Baker Avenue Asset Management LP reduced its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 88.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 3,016 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 23,775 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $881,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Banco de Sabadell S.A increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.3% during the second quarter. Banco de Sabadell S.A now owns 9,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,788,000 after buying an additional 889 shares during the period. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 5.1% during the second quarter. BlackDiamond Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $630,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. Bollard Group LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.9% during the 2nd quarter. Bollard Group LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $642,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares during the period. Daner Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $845,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 84.1% in the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 141,775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $41,422,000 after purchasing an additional 64,757 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $309.57 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $276.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.46 billion, a PE ratio of 26.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $304.14 and its 200 day moving average is $303.70.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total transaction of $977,094.90. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,861,832.16. This trade represents a 34.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This trade represents a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,030 shares of company stock worth $12,240,570. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $324.57.

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.