First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 11,234 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,230 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 0.7% of First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. First National Bank & Trust Co. of Newtown’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after buying an additional 2,311,721 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after buying an additional 677,139 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $121,254,000. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% in the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 26,948.9% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 227,752 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $66,023,000 after acquiring an additional 226,910 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,368,814. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $301.71 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $216.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $292.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $293.44.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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%. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given 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 2.35%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Company 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.