Cypress Capital Group Has $7.49 Million Position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Cypress Capital Group lessened its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 23,970 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 340 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 1.0% of Cypress Capital Group’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,488,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total value of $296,216.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,392,187. This trade represents a 11.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.87.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $305.62 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $218.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.52. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $265.33 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $298.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $304.63.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.67%.

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.