Piscataqua Savings Bank Purchases 754 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Piscataqua Savings Bank grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 23.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,954 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 754 shares during the period. Piscataqua Savings Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.5%

MCD opened at $307.44 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $219.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. McDonald’s’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’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 transaction of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. The trade was a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Loop Capital downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $346.00 to $315.00 in a report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 price objective (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.96.

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.