North Star Asset Management Inc. Has $1.60 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

North Star Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. North Star Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Barclays boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Truist Financial set a $350.00 price target on McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.91.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.1%

MCD stock opened at $314.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $224.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $311.68 and its 200-day moving average is $301.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,276 shares of company stock worth $4,419,385 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.