Connors Investor Services Inc. Trims Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Connors Investor Services Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 43,366 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,695 shares during the period. Connors Investor Services Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,227,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. South Street Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. South Street Advisors LLC now owns 4,673 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,318,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,944 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,871,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Councilmark Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $558,000. First Foundation Advisors boosted its position in McDonald’s by 50.8% during the 1st quarter. First Foundation Advisors now owns 6,570 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,852,000 after acquiring an additional 2,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 27.6% during the 1st quarter. Pinkerton Retirement Specialists LLC now owns 12,282 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,463,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value 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 approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,593 shares of company stock worth $1,472,518 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9 %

MCD traded down $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $257.28. 3,470,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,028,351. The stock has a market capitalization of $185.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $257.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $274.84. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Truist Financial dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 9th. UBS Group dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $309.82.

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.