California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 13.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,154,090 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 323,169 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $654,606,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,647,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $21,773,010,000 after buying an additional 316,638 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,175,800,000 after acquiring an additional 272,139 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 29,382.3% during the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,412,069,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total value of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,200. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders have sold 74,143 shares of company stock valued at $24,517,724. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $385 and reiterated a Buy, citing McDonald’s multi?year growth strategy and brand strength — a clear analyst endorsement that supports upside to the stock. Tigress Financial Upgrades McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Price Target, Highlights Multi-Year Growth Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Value menu push: McDonald’s is rolling out $3 value items and $4 breakfast deals in the U.S. starting in April to win back price?sensitive customers — a traffic?driving move that could boost visit frequency if franchisees and consumers adopt it. McDonald’s to launch new $3 value items in US starting April, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Digital/loyalty tailwinds: Management cites a large loyalty base and digital tools as drivers for higher visit frequency and better targeted promotions — structural levers for revenue per user and margin expansion over time. Can MCD’s Digital Ecosystem Turn Loyalty Into Higher Visit Frequency?
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing and product noise: Viral moments (CEO burger video ? memes) and new product reviews (e.g., Big Arch) keep brand relevance and social buzz high but are unlikely to move fundamentals immediately. How McDonald’s CEO’s viral burger video turned memes into money
• Neutral Sentiment: Menu coverage / consumer perception: Media attention on affordability and menu mix helps narrative but the actual impact depends on execution and unit economics. McDonald’s Plans New $3 Menu, in Latest Bid to Win Customers With Better Deals
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Executive Joseph Erlinger disclosed a sale of 2,626 shares (~$862k). While routine insider sales aren’t always predictive, they can be interpreted as a mild negative signal by some investors. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Short?term dampener: Analysts and commentary note the stock is down since earnings (some profit?taking and valuation debates persist), which can cap near?term upside until fresh evidence of traffic/margin improvement appears. Why Is McDonald’s (MCD) Down 2.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $326.41 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $320.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.51. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $231.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

McDonald’s Profile

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.