Counterweight Ventures LLC Invests $336,000 in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Counterweight Ventures LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,076 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $336,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $2.05 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $297.79. The company had a trading volume of 1,423,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,518,231. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $246.12 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $212.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The firm's 50 day moving average is $302.50 and its 200 day moving average is $302.88.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS 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 given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.38%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $2,949,251.44. This represents a 8.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,843. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MCD. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Finally, Argus lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $319.72.

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.