Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 1,008 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Ballentine Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 18,216 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 1,008 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $5,690,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Abound Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $324.00 price objective (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $322.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, 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 transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,165,843. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.5%

MCD traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $299.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,494,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,532,598. The stock's 50-day moving average is $304.11 and its 200-day moving average is $302.48. McDonald's Corporation has a 1 year low of $246.12 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $214.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.