McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Shares Sold by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank reduced its position in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 276,558 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 18,114 shares during the quarter. Huntington National Bank's holdings in McDonald's were worth $80,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. United Bank grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. United Bank now owns 6,446 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,963,000 after buying an additional 218 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter valued at about $687,000. Atom Investors LP purchased a new position in McDonald's in the third quarter worth about $938,000. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in McDonald's by 2.1% during the third quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,678 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 3.9% during the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,293 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $395,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $6.57 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $318.15. 7,020,608 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,517,180. McDonald's Co. has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $227.31 billion, a PE ratio of 27.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $303.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.56.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Nine 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. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.30.

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.