FORA Capital LLC Makes New Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 72,366 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $20,404,000. McDonald’s comprises about 1.7% of FORA Capital LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9.0% during the 1st quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,033 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $573,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 157,086 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $44,291,000 after purchasing an additional 867 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 10,872 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,065,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 58,944 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $16,619,000 after purchasing an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after purchasing an additional 282 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded down $3.26 on Monday, hitting $247.83. The company had a trading volume of 3,162,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,419,815. The firm has a market cap of $178.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $260.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.68. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39.

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 the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.74%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.70%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. KeyCorp cut their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.89.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares in the company, valued at $5,225.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,593 shares of company stock worth $1,472,518 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.