Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Trims Stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC cut its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 173,603 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 4,446 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $54,229,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

McDonald's Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE MCD opened at $307.44 on Friday. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $312.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.57. The firm has a market cap of $219.83 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, hitting 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 business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's 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 transaction of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Barclays upped their target price 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.96.

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.

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