McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stock Position Cut by CENTRAL TRUST Co

CENTRAL TRUST Co decreased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 73,744 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,259 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Endeavor Private Wealth Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Banyan Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $476,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 13.9% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 43,717 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,096,000 after purchasing an additional 5,347 shares in the last quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 18.1% during the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 17,311 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,998,000 after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NBH Bank boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. NBH Bank now owns 4,854 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,121,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. BTIG Research raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Seaport Research Partners began coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, September 16th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 4th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $308.00 to $297.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, September 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $297.82.

Latest McDonald’s News

Investors following MCD have been watching these news items:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s and Uber are expanding their delivery and loyalty partnership across 14 markets, including the U.S. and U.K. The effort could increase delivery orders, improve customer engagement and generate incremental sales. McDonald’s and Uber expand delivery and loyalty tie-up
• Positive Sentiment: An analyst upgrade was reported overnight, providing a potential positive signal on the stock, though the headline does not identify the analyst’s rationale or price target. McDonald’s Stock Price Up 1.8% on Analyst Upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: In Japan, new chicken sandwiches reportedly sold so well that the company pulled them. Strong demand is encouraging, but the item’s unavailability could limit sales until supply catches up. McDonald’s Japan pulls new chicken sandwiches after they sell too well

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.4%

Shares of MCD opened at $275.30 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $194.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.42. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $229.20 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $249.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.38 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $7.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.28 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.38% and a negative return on equity of 826.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.22 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.91 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.93 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.08%.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app. The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.