Trust Co. of Vermont Buys 1,461 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,222 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,461 shares during the quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $14,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after acquiring an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $244,174,000 after purchasing an additional 677,139 shares during the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after buying an additional 354,196 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3,846.9% during the second quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 273,640 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $69,734,000 after buying an additional 266,707 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $1.16 on Friday, hitting $280.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,304,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,984. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $292.90 and its 200-day moving average is $286.75. The company has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on MCD shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $321.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.51, for a total transaction of $441,470.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $459,435.60. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 9,704 shares of company stock valued at $2,829,428 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.