Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Welch & Forbes LLC lessened its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 320,213 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,072 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.4% of Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $94,946,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Independent Wealth Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Independent Wealth Network Inc. now owns 863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $256,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Paragon Capital Management Ltd now owns 1,374 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $407,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Mechanics Financial Corp now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,581,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Patron Partners LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,529,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’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 transaction, 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. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BTIG Research cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of MCD traded down $1.02 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $269.30. The company had a trading volume of 2,478,555 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,311,579. The stock has a market cap of $194.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.71. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $278.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $282.83. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $245.73 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $1.67 dividend. 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 2.48%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

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.