North Star Investment Management Corp. Cuts Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

North Star Investment Management Corp. decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,260 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th 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 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, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Argus downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 5th. Loop Capital cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $321.79.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $301.57 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $215.63 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $311.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.97.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict 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 given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.49%.

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.