Woodline Partners LP Decreases Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Woodline Partners LP reduced its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 18.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 91,888 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 20,676 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP's holdings in McDonald's were worth $26,637,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE MCD traded up $0.34 on Friday, hitting $314.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,701,517 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,544,625. The firm has a market cap of $224.99 billion, a PE ratio of 27.63, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $311.68 and its 200 day moving average is $301.44.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. McDonald's's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 10,459 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.71, for a total transaction of $3,228,797.89. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,421,918.26. This trade represents a 69.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,276 shares of company stock valued at $4,419,385 over the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their target price 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. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.91.

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.