Argent Trust Co Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Argent Trust Co decreased its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,030 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 208 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $11,314,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Wedbush lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, 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 transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was 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 approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $1.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $305.78. 318,757 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,556,779. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The business’s 50 day moving average is $305.38 and its 200-day moving average is $298.93.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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.