McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Bought by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 72,605 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 373 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $18,503,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gilbert & Cook Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after purchasing an additional 753 shares during the last quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 14.5% in the 4th quarter. Aveo Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. 9258 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,796 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 99.3% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 5,892 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,722,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $2,844,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Loop Capital decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $357.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $303.89.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded up $1.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $289.96. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 163,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,484,106. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $208.97 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average is $267.95 and its 200 day moving average is $270.93.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.17 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.