First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 24,052 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 0.5% of First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings, making the stock its 26th largest position. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,781,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $313.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’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 directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 5,593 shares of company stock worth $1,472,518 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock traded up $2.21 on Thursday, hitting $250.00. 2,026,070 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,639,543. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The business’s fifty day moving average is $261.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $278.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $180.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

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.