SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. Sells 381 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

SS&H Financial Advisors Inc. lowered its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 13.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,372 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 381 shares during the period. SS&H Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $741,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $64,805,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 825 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Optas LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Optas LLC now owns 1,534 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $312.68 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $223.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $312.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.27.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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 2.26%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Northcoast Research lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $325.91.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’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 completion of 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.