Sandy Spring Bank Sells 324 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Sandy Spring Bank reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,861 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 0.7% of Sandy Spring Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $18,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $306.83 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.94, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $297.89 and a 200-day simple moving average of $297.19.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

About McDonald’s

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.