Summit Global Investments Lowers Holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Summit Global Investments trimmed its holdings in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 74.7% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,178 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 3,486 shares during the period. Summit Global Investments' holdings in McDonald's were worth $368,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $4,652,768,000 after buying an additional 157,458 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,088,037,000 after buying an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Northcoast Research cut shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $325.91.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Price Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock traded up $0.17 on Wednesday, reaching $312.56. 1,213,854 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,487,968. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The company has a 50 day moving average of $312.39 and a 200 day moving average of $302.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $223.49 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The company's revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

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.