Ledyard National Bank Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ledyard National Bank lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,562 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 789 shares during the period. Ledyard National Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCD. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $644,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $192,165,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 174.7% in the third quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 947,653 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $249,693,000 after buying an additional 602,707 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 16.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 2,997,877 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $789,762,000 after buying an additional 429,000 shares during the period. Finally, Winslow Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 39.6% in the third quarter. Winslow Capital Management LLC now owns 1,306,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $344,139,000 after buying an additional 370,699 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, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly 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 link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. Stephens restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.41.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $273.92. 3,610,670 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,273,375. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $281.31 and its 200 day moving average is $282.15. The firm has a market cap of $197.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.34 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

McDonald’s Company 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.