First Trust Advisors LP Sells 37,167 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 14.3% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 222,489 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 37,167 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $67,612,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Intellus Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 5.8% during the third quarter. Intellus Advisors LLC now owns 3,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,200 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,100,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Sequent Planning LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at about $340,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 24.2% during the 3rd quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC now owns 4,708 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 36.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chapman Financial Group LLC now owns 3,778 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,148,000 after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Loyalty momentum: McDonald’s loyalty program is near 210 million active users across 70+ markets, improving engagement and providing a direct lever to drive repeat sales and targeted promotions as it targets 250M members by 2027. Will McDonald’s 210M Loyalty Users Fuel Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: A published price-target raise to $385 signals at least one analyst’s bullish view on upside vs. current levels, which can support sentiment and buy-side interest. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $385.00
• Positive Sentiment: New product and partner activations: Recent consumer-facing moves — a spring menu featuring Cadbury items and a Crocs Happy Meal promotion — are small-but-visible initiatives that can boost traffic, social buzz and limited-time sales. McDonald’s just unveiled its new spring menu — Cadbury products will send fans wild McDonald’s rolls out Crocs Happy Meal. What comes inside?
• Positive Sentiment: Brand & marketing traction: The Big Arch burger rollout and CEO-led taste-test moments have generated viral attention and sparked playful competitor responses — a sign of strong brand engagement that can translate into short-term traffic lifts. McDonald’s Big Arch Burger Tests Brand Power And Rich Valuation McDonald’s CEO’s Big Arch taste test sparked a war of fast-food copycats
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: Recent analysis questions whether the current share price fully reflects McDonald’s fundamentals — pointing to strong brand and growth drivers but mixed valuation signals, which may temper buying conviction. Is McDonald’s (MCD) Share Price Justified After Recent Gains And Mixed Valuation Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Product-level chatter: Lifestyle and menu stories (sauce comparisons, Filet?O?Fish nostalgia, rare-store features) keep the brand top-of-mind but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially. McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce Vs Big Arch Sauce: Here’s The Difference
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/operational risk: Analysis highlights exposure to high oil prices (logistics, delivery partner costs, packaging inputs and consumer pump sensitivity). A sustained spike in fuel could pressure margins, delivery economics and low-income consumer traffic. McDonald’s Real Risk From $150 Oil Has Nothing to Do With Costs

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $319.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.25. The company has a market cap of $232.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.51. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $283.47 and a 12 month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Barclays boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $339.69.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.43, for a total transaction of $110,033.19. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 8,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,885,645.19. This represents a 3.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 71,517 shares of company stock worth $23,655,503. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Company 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.