Principal Street Partners LLC Lowers Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Principal Street Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 45.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 1,217 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,033 shares during the quarter. Principal Street Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Pettee Investors Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,566,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its position in McDonald’s by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 899 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $261,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the period. Independent Wealth Network Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $213,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Barn Wealth LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Blue Barn Wealth LLC now owns 871 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $319.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $310.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $301.07. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $228.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp upped 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. Piper Sandler upped their target price on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $325.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total transaction of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. This represents a 41.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 14,436 shares of company stock worth $4,458,290 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.