WASHINGTON TRUST Co Sells 234 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,027 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 234 shares during the quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $11,024,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Hara Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,906 shares of company stock worth $5,406,382 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wedbush raised their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock opened at $308.59 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $221.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.09, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The business has a 50-day moving average of $291.78 and a 200-day moving average of $292.20.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.29%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.16%.

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.