First Western Trust Bank Sells 405 Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Western Trust Bank lessened its stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 28,914 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 405 shares during the period. McDonald’s accounts for 0.4% of First Western Trust Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,382,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 110.0% in the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Truist Financial cut their target price on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.30.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $318.15 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $304.05 and a 200-day moving average of $298.69. McDonald’s Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $227.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.93, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.