Davidson Trust Co. Raises Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Davidson Trust Co. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,978 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 165 shares during the quarter. Davidson Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,180,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Independent Wealth Network Inc. boosted its holdings 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 stake in McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in 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 worth $985,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Unique Wealth LLC lifted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Patron Partners LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $271.08. The stock had a trading volume of 958,218 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,217,726. The firm has a market cap of $195.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $245.73 and a 12-month high of $302.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $283.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $280.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. StockNews.com cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $325.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.