Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. Acquires 3,069 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 3.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,777 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,069 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $26,315,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 542.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 801,858 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $244,174,000 after acquiring an additional 677,139 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 43,591.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 590,711 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $171,241,000 after acquiring an additional 589,359 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $121,254,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 518.1% during the fourth quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 348,119 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $100,916,000 after acquiring an additional 291,802 shares during the period. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3,580.1% during the third quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 268,650 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $81,807,000 after acquiring an additional 261,350 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE MCD opened at $307.58 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $219.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.00, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a 50 day moving average of $294.82 and a 200-day moving average of $295.91. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

About McDonald’s

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.