New Covenant Trust Company N.A. Acquires New Shares in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 849 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $280.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. TD Cowen downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $285.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $302.64.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,594 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,507. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD traded up $3.35 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $268.75. 4,879,650 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,544,535. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $193.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.71. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $255.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $273.02.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.92% and a net margin of 32.25%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 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.