Equitable Trust Co. Increases Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 10.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,904 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,897 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Montis Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $391,000. Mechanics Bank Trust Department increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the third quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 34,959 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,645,000 after buying an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.7% in the third quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 365 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $111,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $765,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% in the third quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 11,131 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,390,000 after acquiring an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $336.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Robert W. Baird downgraded McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $320.00 to $290.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.86.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.0 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $294.39 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $210.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $290.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $290.89. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.