Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Has $20.70 Million Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lessened its position in shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 71,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 262 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $20,698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $44,000. Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Peterson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $58,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.86.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $294.39 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $290.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $290.64. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $210.97 billion, a PE ratio of 25.85, a P/E/G ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,807,201.25. This represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.