Bank of Nova Scotia Cuts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Bank of Nova Scotia lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 315,125 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 61,530 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $97,938,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 30,979.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $806,917,000 after buying an additional 2,587,986 shares in the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $776,608,000 after buying an additional 2,515,515 shares in the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP boosted 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 worth $913,157,000 after buying an additional 1,974,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $948,779,000 after buying an additional 1,033,041 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $262.70 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $186.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $276.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.11. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $260.96 and a 1 year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 61.34%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the firm’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 value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Cfra raised McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Tigress Financial raised their target price on McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $335.12.

McDonald’s Company 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.