Greenwood Capital Associates LLC Acquires 2,667 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Greenwood Capital Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 12.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,068 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,667 shares during the period. Greenwood Capital Associates LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,750 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $535,000 after acquiring an additional 31 shares during the period. Encompass More Asset Management grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Encompass More Asset Management now owns 2,120 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $648,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Richmond Investment Services LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Richmond Investment Services LLC now owns 2,278 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $696,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Papamarkou Wellner Asset Management inc. now owns 8,809 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $642,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price target on McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $335.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 11,307 shares of company stock worth $3,262,622 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Key McDonald’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is leaning on promotions and pop-culture tie-ins to drive traffic, including a new BT21 Happy Meal collaboration and related Pokémon-style merchandising buzz that could support near-term sales. McDonald’s Reveals More On BT21 X Happy Meal Collaboration
• Positive Sentiment: Local and regional promotions, such as free fries for National French Fry Day and the return of limited-time menu items, may help create short-term customer traffic and engagement. McDonald’s giving away free medium fries in Corpus Christi and Victoria for National French Fry Day
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage focused on McDonald’s franchise economics and brand marketing keeps the company in the spotlight, but these stories do not materially change the investment thesis by themselves. McDonald’s Franchise Owners Make A Surprising Amount Of Money
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and comparison pieces continue to frame McDonald’s as a defensive, lower-stress consumer stock, which supports the long-term case but does not appear to be a near-term catalyst. Buy these quality, low-stress stocks for the summer, says Jefferies
• Negative Sentiment: Several articles highlighted complaints that McDonald’s food no longer tastes as good as customers remember, plus reports that some loyal customers are choosing other fast-food chains instead, which can pressure traffic expectations. The McDonald’s Foods Customers Say No Longer Taste Like They Remember
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive headlines also showed rivals taking aim at McDonald’s with new menu offerings, underscoring ongoing pressure in the fast-food market. McDonald’s rival takes not-so-subtle swipe at the fast food giant with new chicken sandwiches

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $278.44 on Thursday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $264.53 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $279.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $197.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.McDonald’s’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.34%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.