BluePath Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

BluePath Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 12.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 89 shares during the quarter. BluePath Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $225,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $302.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $313.89.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE MCD traded up $2.25 on Wednesday, hitting $250.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,026,063 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,426,628. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $245.73 and a one year high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $180.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $262.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.67%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total transaction of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,225.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,593 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,518. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.