UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,197 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 94 shares during the quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd boosted its position in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, Patron Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE MCD traded down $1.80 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $267.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,140,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,309,656. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $278.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $282.83. McDonald’s Co. has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $302.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $192.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was 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 directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $337.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wedbush decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Erste Group Bank restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $317.74.

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.