Advisor Resource Council Takes $788,000 Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Advisor Resource Council purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,523 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $788,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 1.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted 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 valued at $3,088,037,000 after purchasing an additional 531,070 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in McDonald's by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD traded down $2.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $286.75. 7,064,756 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,509,233. The firm has a market cap of $205.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $310.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.86. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $324.00 target price (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Argus downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $321.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald's 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.