Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC raised its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 8.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,792 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 227 shares during the period. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Mattern Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the period. Bell Bank increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 432,406 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $125,350,000 after buying an additional 23,024 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Waters Wealth Management acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $864,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $296.18 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $211.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of $311.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $303.03.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 price target (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $321.79.

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.