Bank of New Hampshire Reduces Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Bank of New Hampshire reduced its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,489 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after purchasing an additional 157,458 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5%

McDonald’s stock opened at $307.44 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were 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 owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.96.

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.