Joseph Erlinger Sells 2,626 Shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.58, for a total transaction of $805,079.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares in the company, valued at $1,654,918.84. This represents a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MCD traded down $0.35 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $306.40. 1,138,227 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,256,222. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $308.14 and its 200-day moving average is $305.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.86 dividend. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.48%.

More McDonald’s News

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s Canada announced a year-long price lock on $5 meals, the first such public commitment in over a decade — a clear value play intended to drive traffic and protect comps in a price-sensitive market. McDonald’s Canada announces year-long price lock on $5 meals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage highlights resilient international markets where disciplined value, local marketing and scale are supporting comparable sales — a constructive sign for margins and cash flow outside the U.S. MCD’s International Markets Stay Resilient: What’s Supporting Comps?
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is accelerating an AI-driven overhaul of services and operations — initiatives that can lower unit-level costs and improve speed/upsell over time, supportive for margins if rollout scales. McDonald’s making major changes to services, operations with AI push
• Positive Sentiment: Menu and promotion activity — including the return of a Pokémon Happy Meal and the rollout of McDonald’s biggest burger in the U.S. — point to marketing-driven traffic catalysts for early 2026. McDonald’s Pokémon Happy Meal to return. When, what toys may be inside McDonald’s brings its biggest burger ever to America after two-year wait
• Neutral Sentiment: Market preview pieces expect single-digit bottom-line growth for the upcoming quarter; modest growth that may limit upside surprises unless the company reports better-than-expected margin or comp lift. What to Expect From McDonald’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Armada named new leaders for its McDonald’s business unit — industry/agency-level changes that have limited direct impact on MCD’s fundamentals but may affect marketing execution. Armada Appoints Todd LeBlanc as President of Armada’s McDonald’s Business Unit and Sarah Wilkes as Chief Marketing Officer
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage notes new competitors taking aim at McDonald’s snack-wrap category, which could pressure share and demand for certain product tiers in localized markets. McDonald’s snack wrap just got some bigger competition—and fans say it’s a million times better

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $358.00 to $372.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $328.88.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $736,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $538,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $507,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald’s serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.

Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand’s national and international expansion.