Swiss National Bank Purchases 134,480 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Swiss National Bank raised its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 6.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,089,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,480 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of McDonald’s worth $649,545,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 21.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,692,000 after acquiring an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. United Bank grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,367,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,938 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,456,440 in the last ninety days. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $267.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $277.07 and its 200 day moving average is $300.33. The stock has a market cap of $190.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.41. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $264.09 and a 1-year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.67 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 61.34%.

McDonald’s News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target on McDonald’s to $390 from $385 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary continue to highlight McDonald’s value offerings, loyalty efforts, localized marketing, and menu innovation as ways the company can support customer traffic and defend sales trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is expected to report second-quarter earnings next month, with consensus calling for modest single-digit profit growth, keeping investor focus on whether traffic and margins improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product news, including the new Caesar sauce and other menu rollouts, is generating consumer interest, but the items appear more promotional than clearly material to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Articles questioning why McDonald’s stock is at nearly two-year lows and noting a 10.1% decline over the past six months versus a rising S&P 500 suggest investors are worried about relative underperformance and slowing momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary describing a “McProblem” that is not getting better points to continuing concerns about business execution, customer traffic, or overall sentiment toward the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent piece also urged investors to stay skeptical, indicating that while the stock may look attractive to some value investors, there are still fundamental questions weighing on shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCD. Evercore set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $331.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Cfra upgraded shares of McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.32.

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.