Sandy Spring Bank Trims Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,861 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises about 0.7% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $18,513,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,963,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 233.8% in the 3rd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 1,552 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 1,087 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $236,000. BIP Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 1,166 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,593,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $306.83 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $219.21 billion, a PE ratio of 26.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.19. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

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.