McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lessened its stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 35.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 289,716 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 158,974 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $88,221,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 3.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald's by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 39.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,005,264,000 after buying an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 31,151.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 1.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,015,441 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $613,722,000 after acquiring an additional 22,780 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $290.89 on Thursday. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74. The company's fifty day moving average is $300.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.84.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald's's previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 58.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Guggenheim cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $319.46.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. The trade was a 9.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $459,435.60. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 35,596 shares of company stock valued at $10,698,289. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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