Donaldson Capital Management LLC Acquires 6,742 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,177 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 6,742 shares during the quarter. McDonald's makes up about 2.5% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Donaldson Capital Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $65,965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 39,039.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MCD traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $302.93. 2,581,660 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,507,052. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald's Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $311.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.88.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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 given a $1.77 dividend. 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 presently 62.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Northcoast Research downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $324.00 price target (down previously from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $321.79.

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.