Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Lowers Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 81,018 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,586 shares during the quarter. McDonald's comprises 1.1% of Alpha Cubed Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $25,308,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake 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 worth $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in McDonald's by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.7%

MCD stock traded down $2.18 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $291.35. The stock had a trading volume of 870,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,528,018. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.77, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $305.64 and a 200 day moving average of $302.53. McDonald's Corporation has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid 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 2.43%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,817 shares of company stock worth $865,843. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MCD. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Citigroup increased their price target on McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on McDonald's in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $321.17.

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.