Morton Community Bank Makes New Investment in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Morton Community Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 3,715 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $1,077,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after buying an additional 220,365 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,803,833 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,682,473,000 after buying an additional 52,195 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,694,202 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,650,692,000 after buying an additional 129,843 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 2,765,049 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $841,966,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald’s Stock Up 3.6 %

MCD stock opened at $321.52 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $295.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $296.37. The stock has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $323.17.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s 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.