Sky Investment Group LLC Raises Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sky Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 32,766 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. McDonald’s comprises approximately 1.9% of Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Sky Investment Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,235,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Liberty Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Liberty Capital Management Inc. now owns 18,264 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,705,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares in the last quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA grew its stake in McDonald’s by 10.8% in the 1st quarter. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA now owns 356,117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $111,240,000 after acquiring an additional 34,614 shares during the period. May Barnhard Investments LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $230,000. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 100,168 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $31,290,000 after acquiring an additional 22,878 shares during the period. Finally, Defined Financial Planning LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 21.5% in the 1st quarter. Defined Financial Planning LLC now owns 2,365 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $742,000 after acquiring an additional 419 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MCD opened at $302.93 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $311.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.88. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its 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. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MCD. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $260.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.79.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.