United Bank Buys 618 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

United Bank boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,064 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the period. United Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,048,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,341,391,000 after buying an additional 526,466 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after purchasing an additional 128,800 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after purchasing an additional 52,195 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.8 %

MCD stock opened at $306.95 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $301.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $298.15. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.