Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 1,554 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp cut its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 128,282 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,554 shares during the quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $37,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% during the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Erste Group Bank raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 5.8 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $299.68 on Friday. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $304.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $298.75. The firm has a market cap of $214.11 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 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%. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid 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 2.36%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 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.