Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 497 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,274 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 497 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,897,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its position in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 11,247 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,513,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Smith Anglin Financial LLC now owns 2,861 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the period. Kwmg LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4.8% during the 1st quarter. Kwmg LLC now owns 1,044 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $326,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.5% during the 1st quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 11,651 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,639,000 after buying an additional 1,105 shares during the period. Finally, HBW Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC now owns 12,179 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,804,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their price target on McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price target (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $311.70 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.88 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $312.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.34.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given 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 dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.