United Community Bank Has $2.26 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Community Bank raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,801 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for about 0.9% of United Community Bank’s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. United Community Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Marshall Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Trading Up 3.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $321.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $296.32. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $323.17. The firm has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Research analysts forecast 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 will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.20%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About McDonald’s

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.