Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Trims Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 71,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 262 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $20,698,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $2,471,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total transaction of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 9,286 shares in the company, valued at $2,716,155. This trade represents a 10.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.86.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

MCD stock opened at $294.39 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $210.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.85, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $290.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $290.64.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.