First County Bank CT Raises Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First County Bank CT increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,421 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. First County Bank CT’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,381,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. GoalVest Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 6,041 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,887,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,092,645,000 after buying an additional 3,488,982 shares during the last quarter. Exeter Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.5% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 17,969 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,613,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Farmers Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 36.9% during the 1st quarter. Farmers Trust Co. now owns 37,063 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,577,000 after buying an additional 9,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moody National Bank Trust Division grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 12,736 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,978,000 after acquiring an additional 406 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $311.82 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $312.27 and a 200 day moving average of $301.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $222.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

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