Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 14,275 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 40.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 20,962 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 14,275 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Bell Bank grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 432,406 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $125,350,000 after purchasing an additional 23,024 shares in the last quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 22.9% in the 1st quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Great Waters Wealth Management purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $864,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $286.75 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $310.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.84. The company has a market capitalization of $205.04 billion, a PE ratio of 25.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $324.00 price objective (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, June 9th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $321.79.

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.