Madison Asset Management LLC Sells 3,350 Shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,870 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,350 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $9,955,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,092,645,000 after buying an additional 3,488,982 shares during the period. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted 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 worth $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised 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. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, May 5th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 target price (down from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Loop Capital lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, June 13th. Two 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's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $322.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, 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 value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of MCD traded up $3.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $298.25. 3,400,107 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,682,701. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $250.23 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The company's 50-day moving average price is $301.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $303.02. The company has a market cap of $213.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its 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 net margin of 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.