McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Holdings Increased by Generali Investments Management Co LLC

Generali Investments Management Co LLC increased its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 29.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,014 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 4,976 shares during the period. McDonald's comprises approximately 2.0% of Generali Investments Management Co LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Generali Investments Management Co LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $6,877,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price objective on McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $324.96.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.5%

MCD traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $307.44. 2,621,006 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,492,654. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The company's fifty day moving average price is $312.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $302.57. McDonald's Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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

McDonald's 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.