Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 35,377 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 948,557 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 35,377 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.13% of McDonald’s worth $289,908,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 92 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1,616.7% in the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 103 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 735.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $276.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $196.23 billion, a PE ratio of 22.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.41. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $294.66 and a 200-day moving average of $308.42. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $271.98 and a one year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.McDonald’s’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 61.34%.

Key McDonald’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s unveiled its “McDonald’s NEXT” growth strategy, centered on automation, improved restaurant design, better-tasting food and drinks, stronger customer service, and social-media-led marketing, which could support long-term sales and efficiency. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Recent analysis suggests McDonald’s may be winning the value wars by attracting cautious consumers with low-cost meals, menu innovation, and strong marketing, which could help protect traffic and market share. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: The company also highlighted plans to make restaurants easier to run and support franchisees, which may improve margins over time but likely will take time to show up in results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An EVP sold 2,763 shares in a recent insider transaction, which may weigh on sentiment slightly but does not by itself signal a major business problem. Article Title

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $806,182.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,400 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,578,800. The trade was a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 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 value of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,631,594 over the last quarter. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. KeyCorp cut their price target on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. Guggenheim dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $334.45.

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.