Smithfield Trust Co Purchases 80 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 21,758 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in McDonald’s by 542.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after purchasing an additional 589,359 shares in the last quarter. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $121,254,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI increased its stake in McDonald’s by 518.1% during the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $100,916,000 after purchasing an additional 291,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $81,807,000 after buying an additional 261,350 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $305.66 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $218.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $294.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $295.83.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Profile

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.