Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,042 shares during the quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total transaction of $295,850.73. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,161 shares in the company, valued at $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $307.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $219.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $312.29 and a 200 day moving average price of $302.76. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. KeyCorp boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Loop Capital downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Piper Sandler increased their price target on McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of McDonald’s from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $324.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Monday. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $324.48.

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.