AMG National Trust Bank Cuts Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

AMG National Trust Bank cut its position in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,172 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,216 shares during the period. AMG National Trust Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,793,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 10.4% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 3,006 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $848,000 after acquiring an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% in the first quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,274 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $923,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.5% during the first quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 6,323 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,783,000 after purchasing an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 34.9% during the first quarter. Ossiam now owns 22,951 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,471,000 after buying an additional 5,935 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boulder Hill Capital Management LP bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth about $3,778,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $291.10 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $208.61 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.60.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.43%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total transaction of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,721.60. This trade represents a 48.99 % 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 this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 19.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,596 shares of company stock worth $10,698,289 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.