Gradient Investments LLC Increases Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 119,725 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 3,941 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $37,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 21.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA purchased a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $64,805,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 1,920 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $557,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in McDonald's by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 20,502 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $5,943,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Robert W. Baird raised 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. BTIG Research reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, May 24th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $326.13.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD traded down $2.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $308.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,723,320 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,490,094. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.34. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $220.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.09, 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 data 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. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by 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.