First Western Trust Bank Reduces Stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD)

Key Points

• First Western Trust Bank has reduced its stake in McDonald's Corporation by 5.5%, now holding 27,335 shares valued at approximately $8.54 million.
• Insiders, including Joseph M. Erlinger and Edith Morgan Flatley, have sold shares recently, decreasing their holdings by 9.19% and 11.02% respectively.
• McDonald's reported a quarterly EPS of $3.19, surpassing analyst expectations, and declared a dividend of $1.77 per share to be paid on September 16th.

First Western Trust Bank trimmed its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 5.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,335 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 1,579 shares during the quarter. McDonald's makes up 0.4% of First Western Trust Bank's holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. First Western Trust Bank's holdings in McDonald's were worth $8,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Abound Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total transaction of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,780,165.67. This represents a 9.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 976 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.50, for a total transaction of $296,216.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 7,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,392,187. The trade was a 11.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 7,280 shares of company stock valued at $2,215,178 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald's stock opened at $305.62 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $265.33 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average of $298.57 and a 200-day moving average of $304.33.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.15 by $0.04. McDonald's had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The company had revenue of $6.84 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.68 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.97 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.67%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price target (up previously from $345.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $346.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $335.00 target price (up previously from $325.00) on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $326.87.

About McDonald's

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.

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