Homestead Advisers Corp Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Homestead Advisers Corp increased its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 30.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 290,077 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 67,000 shares during the period. McDonald's comprises about 2.2% of Homestead Advisers Corp's holdings, making the stock its 16th largest position. Homestead Advisers Corp's holdings in McDonald's were worth $90,611,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank raised its holdings in McDonald's by 8.2% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 7,643 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,387,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Hartford Funds Management Co LLC now owns 2,391 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $747,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. PFG Advisors increased its position in McDonald's by 18.1% in the first quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 3,217 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,005,000 after buying an additional 494 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC increased its position in McDonald's by 10.1% in the first quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $817,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the period. Finally, Obermeyer Wealth Partners increased its position in McDonald's by 11.6% in the first quarter. Obermeyer Wealth Partners now owns 7,352 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 766 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp decreased their target price on McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Argus cut McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, June 13th. Loop Capital cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday, June 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $345.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total transaction of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:MCD traded down $3.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $294.74. 4,400,923 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,612,025. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $301.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.83. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $250.23 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $210.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The firm's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

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.