Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 1,046 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Congress Asset Management Co. trimmed its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,570 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,046 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $16,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $307.44 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $312.29 and a 200-day moving average of $302.66. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCD. Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday. Wedbush boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.