Mariner LLC Increases Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 820,743 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 15,002 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $249,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $326.79 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $283.47 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $320.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS 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 net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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 issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.35, for a total transaction of $8,706,883.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,587,915. The trade was a 53.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Seventeen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.69.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Company plans a U.S. value push with new menu items priced at $3 or less and $4 breakfast meal deals starting in April — a move designed to drive traffic and defend comps in a cost-conscious consumer environment. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Viral social media attention after the CEO was filmed eating the new Big Arch burger coincided with strong early sales and heightened brand chatter, which can translate into short-term traffic and incremental sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KeyBanc raised its price target to $354 and kept an Overweight rating, citing strong domestic momentum — a catalyst for investor confidence and upward analyst pressure. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Company marketing/CSR activity such as donating $0.25 from shakes to local chapters supports brand goodwill and community engagement. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary is active: some outlets summarize bullish theses and higher price targets, while options commentary notes the stock’s flatness has made certain put-selling strategies attractive — mixed signals for short?term direction. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation concerns: analysis argues the McValue 2.0 rollout is constructive but MCD’s rich valuation leaves limited upside for investors, constraining near-term gains. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive pressure: commentary notes peers like DRI and QSR are outpacing McDonald’s stock performance and rivals are reacting aggressively to Big Arch, highlighting execution and category risks. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Industry headwinds on core burger economics and margin pressures are being discussed, which could limit margin expansion if commodity or promotional costs rise. Read More.

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.