Community Bank N.A. Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Community Bank N.A. decreased its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 14,305 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 110 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,356,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lynx Investment Advisory purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $75,000. Olistico Wealth LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the second quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC now owns 4,107 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Somerset Trust Co grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 17,275 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,402,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the period. Apella Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 13.7% during the 2nd quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 5,660 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,391,000 after purchasing an additional 680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Praetorian Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $251,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 48.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $1,781,937.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,121,716.12. This represents a 22.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 35,597 shares of company stock valued at $10,702,754 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $296.01 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $212.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $299.96 and a 200-day moving average of $279.04. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.16%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.64.

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.