Haverford Trust Co Sells 2,530 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Haverford Trust Co reduced its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 246,373 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,530 shares during the period. Haverford Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $71,421,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after acquiring an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,682,473,000 after acquiring an additional 52,195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,650,692,000 after purchasing an additional 129,843 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were 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 $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $305.07 on Monday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $298.75 and a 200 day moving average of $297.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its 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 net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 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.