First County Bank CT Lowers Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First County Bank CT trimmed its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 4,357 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 276 shares during the quarter. First County Bank CT’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after acquiring an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,050 shares of company stock valued at $3,556,688 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded down $3.07 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $289.11. The company had a trading volume of 1,737,689 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,457,491. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $294.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $285.69. The company has a market capitalization of $207.18 billion, a PE ratio of 25.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The firm’s revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.19 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $320.65.

About McDonald’s

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.