McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Avanza Fonder AB

Avanza Fonder AB cut its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,098 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 5,932 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in McDonald's were worth $14,363,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in McDonald's by 39,039.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after buying an additional 3,488,982 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted 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 buying an additional 895,896 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Redburn Atlantic reissued a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $324.00 price objective (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $321.79.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.50 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $301.93. The company had a trading volume of 3,312,112 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,509,391. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $311.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $302.84. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

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.