Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 832,356 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 4,234 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of McDonald's worth $260,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald's by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 988 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,170,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.4% in the first quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,117 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,535,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. 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. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $324.00 price target (down from $329.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $321.17.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 10,222 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,949,251.44. This trade represents a 8.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 2,817 shares of company stock valued at $865,843. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Price Performance

MCD stock traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $293.80. The company had a trading volume of 1,678,645 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,536,052. The company has a market capitalization of $210.08 billion, a PE ratio of 25.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $306.57 and a 200 day moving average of $302.37. McDonald's Corporation has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.67. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. The business's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.