Balentine LLC Buys Shares of 1,814 McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Balentine LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 1,814 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,412,069,000. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 171.7% in the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $913,157,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 96.0% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 4,032,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,188,147,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,751 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday. BTIG Research upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $337.04.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $327.58 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $313.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $308.53. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $283.47 and a 52 week high of $335.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $233.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.50, for a total value of $2,006,218.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,407,133. This represents a 58.78% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total transaction of $854,106.50. Following the sale, the insider owned 5,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,755,699.50. This trade represents a 32.73% 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 31,439 shares of company stock valued at $9,772,464. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.