Bell Bank Sells 6,445 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Bell Bank reduced its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,445 shares during the period. Bell Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 162.5% during the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 95.7% in the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 92 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 735.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Truist Financial increased their price target on McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $339.69.

Key McDonald’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KPop Demon Hunters promotion could drive significant near-term sales and traffic — some outlets estimate a large, rapid revenue boost from the campaign. How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ meals could make McDonald’s $100M in just a few days
• Positive Sentiment: Company is leveraging pop-culture partnerships with two new adult Happy Meals and five menu items — a proven traffic driver for McDonald’s. McDonald’s unveils 2 new adult Happy Meals, 5 menu items
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors/strategists continue to prefer MCD for defensive, cash-generating exposure versus higher-growth names, supporting buy-side interest. Why this portfolio manager prefers McDonald’s stock over Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst rating is “Hold” (mix of buy/hold/sell), indicating no broad upgrade momentum from the sell-side. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical note: some analysts/market watchers flag MCD as oversold on short-term indicators, which can prompt bargain-hunting but also signals recent selling pressure. 4 Consumer Favorites Look Oversold Right Now: Disney, McDonald’s and More
• Negative Sentiment: Not all publicity is positive — at least one ad tied to the promotion drew fan criticism, which could temper engagement or spark short-term negative PR. KPop Demon Hunters McDonald’s ad isn’t for all the fans

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $306.23 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $217.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $321.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.45. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $283.47 and a 52-week high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.34, for a total value of $862,220.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 8,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,867,393.22. This trade represents a 23.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.