Blue Trust Inc. Reduces Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Blue Trust Inc. decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 13,674 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 4,884 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.59 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $291.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $292.20. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.