McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by VeraBank N.A.

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

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded down $2.96 on Friday, reaching $270.32. The stock had a trading volume of 2,642,344 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,812,742. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $279.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.35. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The stock has a market cap of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.54% and a net margin of 33.36%. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, March 25th. Guggenheim cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.74.

About McDonald’s

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.