Washington Trust Bank Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Washington Trust Bank cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 246 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush upped their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.39.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $305.07 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $298.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $297.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG 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.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

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.