MFA Wealth Services Sells 168 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

MFA Wealth Services lowered its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.6% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,053 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. MFA Wealth Services’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $641,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $301.57 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $311.95 and its 200 day moving average is $302.97. The stock has a market cap of $215.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Argus downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $324.00 target price (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate 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.