Unigestion Holding SA Sells 58,852 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Unigestion Holding SA reduced its stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 61.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,390 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 58,852 shares during the quarter. Unigestion Holding SA's holdings in McDonald's were worth $11,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock traded down $0.69 on Wednesday, hitting $311.70. 2,068,585 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,501,224. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.27. McDonald's Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.70 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. This trade represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of McDonald's from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, BTIG Research reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price 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.