McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Purchased by Ledyard National Bank

Ledyard National Bank boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,652 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,312,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Independent Wealth Network Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Concentric Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Concentric Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,551 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $756,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Mechanics Financial Corp raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Finally, FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,268 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available at this link. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 5,593 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,518. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

MCD stock traded down $1.46 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $259.54. 3,416,141 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,466,899. The company has a market capitalization of $187.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $257.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $275.40.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $302.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $310.00.

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.