Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 11.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,306 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,647,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,773,010,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,024,857 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,643,704,000 after buying an additional 196,505 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,780,712,000. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,757,967 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,445,899,000 after buying an additional 286,284 shares during the period. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,422,014 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,343,501,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $306.23 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.46. The company has a market cap of $217.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $283.47 and a 12 month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: KPop Demon Hunters promotion could drive significant near-term sales and traffic — some outlets estimate a large, rapid revenue boost from the campaign. How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ meals could make McDonald’s $100M in just a few days
• Positive Sentiment: Company is leveraging pop-culture partnerships with two new adult Happy Meals and five menu items — a proven traffic driver for McDonald’s. McDonald’s unveils 2 new adult Happy Meals, 5 menu items
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors/strategists continue to prefer MCD for defensive, cash-generating exposure versus higher-growth names, supporting buy-side interest. Why this portfolio manager prefers McDonald’s stock over Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst rating is “Hold” (mix of buy/hold/sell), indicating no broad upgrade momentum from the sell-side. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical note: some analysts/market watchers flag MCD as oversold on short-term indicators, which can prompt bargain-hunting but also signals recent selling pressure. 4 Consumer Favorites Look Oversold Right Now: Disney, McDonald’s and More
• Negative Sentiment: Not all publicity is positive — at least one ad tied to the promotion drew fan criticism, which could temper engagement or spark short-term negative PR. KPop Demon Hunters McDonald’s ad isn’t for all the fans

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $339.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.34, for a total value of $862,220.84. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,733 shares in the company, valued at $2,867,393.22. This represents a 23.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,722,204 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.