Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,058 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 624 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,120,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $307.18 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $298.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $297.26. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The company has a market capitalization of $219.47 billion, a PE ratio of 26.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting 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 firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 over the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.39.

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.