Argent Trust Co Has $10.47 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Argent Trust Co cut its stake in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 2.7% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 41,101 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 1,138 shares during the quarter. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $10,474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $6,612,000. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 1,180,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $350,157,000 after buying an additional 15,863 shares during the period. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP raised its position in McDonald’s by 411.4% during the fourth quarter. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP now owns 7,497 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,223,000 after buying an additional 6,031 shares during the period. SageView Advisory Group LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 51.2% during the fourth quarter. SageView Advisory Group LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,608,000 after buying an additional 6,447 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,721.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $293.73 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $274.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $270.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $306.11.

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.