Cutler Investment Counsel LLC Has $17.24 Million Stake in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Cutler Investment Counsel LLC decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 58,136 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 561 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 2.5% of Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest holding. Cutler Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. Retirement Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Bear Mountain Capital Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $0.97 during trading on Friday, reaching $271.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,402,661 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,224,095. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $245.73 and a 52-week high of $302.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $283.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $280.62. The company has a market cap of $196.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The company’s revenue was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.59 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.74%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 5th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group cut their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

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.