Beacon Financial Group Has $279,000 Position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Beacon Financial Group cut its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 7.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 961 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 73 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $307.47 on Thursday. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $220.34 billion, a PE ratio of 26.99, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average is $291.33 and its 200 day moving average is $291.97.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Baird R W cut McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Citigroup upped 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. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,857 in the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.