Synergy Asset Management LLC Grows Position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Synergy Asset Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 42.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 964 shares during the quarter. Synergy Asset Management LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $1,019,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bell Bank raised its holdings in McDonald's by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $3,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Aviva PLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 432,406 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $125,350,000 after acquiring an additional 23,024 shares during the period. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 22.9% in the first quarter. Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC now owns 17,226 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $5,381,000 after purchasing an additional 3,212 shares during the period. Finally, Great Waters Wealth Management purchased a new position in McDonald's in the first quarter valued at about $864,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Erste Group Bank lowered McDonald's from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 24th. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $260.00 price objective (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Loop Capital lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday, June 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fifteen have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $321.79.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock opened at $286.75 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $205.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $310.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $302.84.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. McDonald's's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was 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 owns 11,161 shares of the company's stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.

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