Columbia Trust Co 01012016 Has $1.93 Million Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Columbia Trust Co 01012016 raised its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Columbia Trust Co 01012016’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,926,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $256,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,737 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $985,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Unique Wealth LLC now owns 3,249 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $963,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Finally, STAR Financial Bank lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. STAR Financial Bank now owns 3,767 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,124,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $315.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 5th. TD Cowen reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $320.10.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD remained flat at $278.62 on Tuesday. 2,520,070 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,195,132. The firm has a market capitalization of $201.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $291.07 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.92. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.