Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Has $6.10 Million Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,937 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,231 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.5% of Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after purchasing an additional 599,745 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the last quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased 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 valued at $1,664,521,000 after buying an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased 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 valued at $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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. KeyCorp decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.71.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD traded up $0.80 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $288.66. 2,528,549 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,519,216. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $265.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $271.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.03 billion, a PE ratio of 24.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.92% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,260,106. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.