Nixon Peabody Trust Co. Lowers Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Nixon Peabody Trust Co. lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,220 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 98 shares during the quarter. Nixon Peabody Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 4.1% in the third quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $194,000. LCM Capital Management Inc increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the third quarter. LCM Capital Management Inc now owns 2,887 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $879,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Summit Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $213,000. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR increased its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 98,748 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,070,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $308.17 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $294.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $295.09. 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 $220.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Company 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.