United Bank Buys 618 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Bank increased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,064 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the quarter. United Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,048,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Life Planning Partners Inc purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $14,370,000. RWA Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. RWA Wealth Partners LLC now owns 114,013 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $33,051,000 after buying an additional 2,714 shares during the period. Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Schroder Investment Management Group raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 970,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $281,399,000 after buying an additional 27,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Money Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. American Money Management LLC now owns 21,304 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,176,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $306.95 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $301.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $298.15. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly 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 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders 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 yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.