Balentine LLC Makes New Investment in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Balentine LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,814 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $551,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% during the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. United Bank raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swan Global Investments LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $257,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,169,430. This trade represents a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total value of $854,106.50. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,755,699.50. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 31,439 shares of company stock valued at $9,772,464. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 target price on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $337.04.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $327.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $233.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $283.47 and a 1-year high of $335.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $313.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $308.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

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.