GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 2,261 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 25.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,198 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 2,261 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $3,498,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in McDonald's by 11.2% in 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 acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $321.79.

McDonald's Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of MCD opened at $291.94 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $208.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $308.26 and a 200 day moving average of $302.43.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The company's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.70 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.43%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,817 shares of company stock worth $865,843. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

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