WMS Partners LLC Sells 540 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

WMS Partners LLC decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,357 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 540 shares during the quarter. WMS Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,176,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after acquiring an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after buying an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after buying an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $5.10 on Tuesday, reaching $266.52. The company had a trading volume of 4,924,469 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,527,371. The firm has a market cap of $192.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.71. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $255.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.10. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.05 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $357.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. 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. Finally, 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. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $302.82.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.13, for a total transaction of $291,377.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,209,734.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.13, for a total transaction of $291,377.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,878 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,209,734.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,594 shares of company stock worth $1,454,507 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.