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

Argent Trust Co reduced its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 41,101 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,474,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCD. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $6,612,000. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,180,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $350,157,000 after purchasing an additional 15,863 shares during the last quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 411.4% during the 4th quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,223,000 after purchasing an additional 6,031 shares during the last quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.2% during the 4th quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,608,000 after purchasing an additional 6,447 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on MCD. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price objective on the stock. KeyCorp decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.11.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $293.73 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $302.39. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $274.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Profile

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.