Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC Has $6.08 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lessened its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,461 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 347 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 1.0% of Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,079,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Focus Financial Network Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 13,606 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 211,177 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $65,965,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742 shares during the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 5,126 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Advisory Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $274,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $300.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $311.79 and a 200-day moving average price of $302.84. The company has a market cap of $214.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.36%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.