Pinnacle Associates Ltd. Boosts Stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 2.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 53,931 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 1,213 shares during the period. Pinnacle Associates Ltd.'s holdings in McDonald's were worth $16,847,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Copia Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. This represents a 10.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. The trade was a 9.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,147,992. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MCD traded down $3.38 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $294.74. 4,423,562 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,729,144. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $301.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $302.85. McDonald's Corporation has a one year low of $250.23 and a one year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $210.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.01, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released 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 31.75% and a negative return on equity of 195.27%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $345.00 price objective (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Loop Capital lowered 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 report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $322.00.

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.