McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Stake Boosted by Winthrop Advisory Group LLC

Winthrop Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,611 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Winthrop Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $816,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,982 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6%

McDonald’s stock opened at $313.68 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $312.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.00. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $224.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. McDonald’s’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.