McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Community Bank N.A.

Community Bank N.A. lowered its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 14,235 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 70 shares during the quarter. Community Bank N.A.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $4,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Napatree Capital LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Napatree Capital LLC now owns 850 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $246,000 after buying an additional 187 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,502 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,305,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Hill Island Financial LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $696,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 1,247,378 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $361,602,000 after purchasing an additional 73,519 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,200 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction 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 approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $305.07 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $217.96 billion, a PE ratio of 26.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $297.46.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

McDonald’s 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.