HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Boosts Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 55,560 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares during the period. McDonald’s makes up approximately 1.0% of HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest holding. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Melius assumed coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $250.00 target price for the company. Northcoast Research cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $319.72.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,949,251.44. The trade was a 8.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,165,843. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $295.76 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $246.12 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $211.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $302.50 and a two-hundred day moving average of $302.88.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.49%.

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.