Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Boosts Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 29.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,168 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 22,878 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $31,290,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. 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 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital lowered McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $324.00 price objective (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $350.00 price objective on McDonald's in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $321.79.

McDonald's Trading Up 0.4%

NYSE:MCD traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $302.93. 2,581,660 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,507,059. The business's 50-day moving average price is $311.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $302.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.60, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. McDonald's Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.