Birinyi Associates Inc. Sells 300 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Birinyi Associates Inc. decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 6,000 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 300 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for approximately 0.6% of Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position. Birinyi Associates Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,874,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after buying an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,088,037,000 after buying an additional 531,070 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Piper Sandler lifted 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. Finally, Argus cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $319.72.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total value of $270,920.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,949,251.44. This represents a 8.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,165,843. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $296.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.53. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $302.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $302.72. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $246.12 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

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.