Beech Hill Advisors Inc. Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Beech Hill Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,231 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 65 shares during the period. Beech Hill Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,259,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.0%

NYSE:MCD opened at $285.78 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $204.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.04 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $309.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.60.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.48%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, June 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.79.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 2,817 shares of company stock worth $865,843 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.