Eastern Bank Lowers Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Eastern Bank decreased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 144,660 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,436 shares during the period. Eastern Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $42,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $26,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $30,000. GFG Capital LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded McDonald’s from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $345.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Truist Financial upped their price target on McDonald’s from $356.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Bank of America reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $373.00 to $381.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $325.18.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $297.07 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $306.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $305.79. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $211.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.46, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 225.52% and a net margin of 32.21%.The firm had revenue of $6.84 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.00, for a total value of $315,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,160,270. This represents a 12.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,402 shares of company stock valued at $1,973,407 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.