First Interstate Bank Sells 449 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Interstate Bank lessened its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 17,195 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 449 shares during the quarter. First Interstate Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $5,236,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.5% during the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. Finally, First Financial Bankshares Inc boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Financial Bankshares Inc now owns 313,961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $95,604,000 after acquiring an additional 32,890 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MCD traded up $3.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $295.21. 4,131,804 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,530,975. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $298.36 and its 200-day moving average is $275.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $211.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 178.99%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Tigress Financial upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

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.