First Foundation Advisors Sells 1,184 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• First Foundation Advisors reduced its holdings in McDonald's by 31.5%, now owning 2,576 shares worth approximately $805,000.
• Recent analyst reports show mixed price targets for McDonald's, with the average target set at $322.00 and a consensus rating of "Hold".
• McDonald's has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.77 per share, reflecting a 2.34% yield based on a payout ratio of 62.49%.

First Foundation Advisors lessened its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 31.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,576 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,184 shares during the quarter. First Foundation Advisors' holdings in McDonald's were worth $805,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 1st quarter worth approximately $8,444,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its stake in McDonald's by 56.2% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 3,774 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,179,000 after purchasing an additional 1,358 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's by 16.0% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 14,585 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $4,556,000 after purchasing an additional 2,013 shares during the last quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 13.5% in the first quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,466 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,707,000 after acquiring an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 8.6% in the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 19,577 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $6,115,000 after acquiring an additional 1,555 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Argus lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Bank of America cut their target price on McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $323.39.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of MCD stock traded up $2.81 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $302.88. The stock had a trading volume of 3,324,992 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,008. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $299.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $303.37. McDonald's Corporation has a one year low of $265.33 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $216.57 billion, a PE ratio of 26.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

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.