Country Trust Bank Has $256,000 Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Country Trust Bank increased its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 83.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 875 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Country Trust Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $256,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 32 shares during the period. WealthTrust Axiom LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. WealthTrust Axiom LLC now owns 1,946 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC now owns 1,367 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 1,219 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 3,604 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,053,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $310.40 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $276.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $303.16 and a 200-day moving average of $304.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $221.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $8,169,430. This represents a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total transaction of $3,945,716.28. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. The trade was a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 34,463 shares of company stock valued at $10,549,351 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.