McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Monarch Capital Management Inc.

Monarch Capital Management Inc. lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 38,911 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 745 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for about 3.4% of Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Monarch Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $12,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,805,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Soltis Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,946 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $854,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $324.00 price objective (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $321.79.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $300.25 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $311.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.84. The stock has a market capitalization 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 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

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.