Welch Group LLC Buys 4,422 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 203,824 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,422 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 2.8% of Welch Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th biggest position. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $62,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 15,543 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,854,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. First County Bank CT increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% during the first quarter. First County Bank CT now owns 4,421 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,381,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 14.3% during the first quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,887,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exeter Financial LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.5% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.3%

McDonald’s stock opened at $311.82 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $312.27 and its 200 day moving average is $301.89. The company has a market capitalization of $222.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, May 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

McDonald’s 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.