Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC Trims Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 21.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 232,582 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 62,918 shares during the period. Capitolis Liquid Global Markets LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $71,084,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Cinctive Capital Management LP increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 414.5% during the fourth quarter. Cinctive Capital Management LP now owns 12,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,785,000 after buying an additional 9,977 shares during the period. Claro Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors Inc. now owns 11,163 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,412,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the period. Asset One Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $4,937,000. Basso Capital Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $56,000. Finally, Bridgeway Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management LLC now owns 79,910 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $24,423,000 after buying an additional 4,653 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is bringing back its fried apple pie after more than 30 years, a nostalgic, limited-time menu move that could support traffic and generate buzz with customers. AP News article
• Positive Sentiment: Other reports also note McDonald’s has been winning with value-oriented diners, which may help it hold up better than midtier restaurant chains as consumers trade down or seek familiar brands. Yahoo Finance article
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of McDonald’s reviving classic menu items, updating drive-thrus, and rebuilding older locations is mostly brand/operations news, with limited immediate impact on the stock. TheStreet article
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks note pointed out that MCD recently fell more than the broader market, but it did not identify a major new catalyst beyond the stock’s recent weakness. Zacks article
• Negative Sentiment: The biggest headwind is the market’s concern that restaurant spending is fragmenting, which could pressure midtier operators and keep sentiment cautious around consumer discretionary names like McDonald’s. Yahoo Finance article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 11th. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $336.26.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the company’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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,307 shares of company stock worth $3,262,622. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $284.16 on Thursday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $271.85 and a one year high of $341.75. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $288.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.43, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.34%.

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.