Greenleaf Trust Decreases Stock Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Greenleaf Trust cut its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 35,488 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,562 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,523,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 51.9% in the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at about $33,000. Retirement Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $1.01 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.99. The stock had a trading volume of 2,904,090 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,245,232. The company has a market capitalization of $196.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $283.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $280.62. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. Citigroup cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

McDonald’s Profile

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.