McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG

Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG trimmed its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 9.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 188,970 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 20,494 shares during the period. McDonald's accounts for about 1.4% of Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest position. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG's holdings in McDonald's were worth $59,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $64,805,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. now owns 52,616 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $15,253,000 after acquiring an additional 5,845 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TigerOak Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,762,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Loop Capital cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, June 9th. Argus lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $321.79.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD traded down $5.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $296.18. 4,031,868 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,509,124. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.78 billion, a PE ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The business's 50 day moving average price is $311.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.03.

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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 2.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

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.