VeraBank N.A. Sells 596 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

VeraBank N.A. decreased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,004 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 596 shares during the period. VeraBank N.A.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 68,449,565 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $18,032,353,000 after buying an additional 262,147 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,200,473 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,423,773,000 after buying an additional 151,161 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 4.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,390,035 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,401,570,000 after buying an additional 237,532 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,593,760 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,209,171,000 after purchasing an additional 199,657 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 3,911,764 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,159,877,000 after purchasing an additional 26,147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

MCD stock traded down $2.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $270.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,642,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.35. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total value of $312,533.62. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. KeyCorp cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $317.74.

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.