Sit Investment Associates Inc. Sells 1,608 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Sit Investment Associates Inc. decreased its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 53,622 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,608 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $16,750,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Holderness Investments Co. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Holderness Investments Co. now owns 13,308 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,157,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. American Money Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 21,382 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,679,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Francis Financial Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 195.0% in the 1st quarter. Francis Financial Inc. now owns 4,998 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,304 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 18.6% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,238 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,886,000 after purchasing an additional 1,451 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 5.9% in the 1st quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,666 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1%

NYSE:MCD opened at $304.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $298.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $304.74. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $268.50 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.67%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,487 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $770,970.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 8,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,713,740. This represents a 22.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock worth $2,215,178 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $314.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Argus downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $326.87.

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.