McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Arax Advisory Partners

Arax Advisory Partners decreased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 39.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,886 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 17,150 shares during the quarter. Arax Advisory Partners’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,911,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after purchasing an additional 703,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,890,438,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.4% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,560,037 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,699,314,000 after purchasing an additional 384,762 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Commentary highlighted McDonald’s as a “rare mega-cap” with accelerating fundamentals, citing 3.8% global comparable sales growth, more than $9 billion in loyalty sales over 90 days, and 9.4% year-over-year revenue growth, which supports the bull case for the stock. McDonald’s Will Trade at This Price in 2028
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is testing AI-powered drive-thru ordering, and early results from a million orders appear promising; if rolled out successfully, this could improve efficiency and margins over time. McDonald’s Is Letting AI Take Your Orders Again. A Million Orders Later, the Results Look Promising.
• Positive Sentiment: Promotional activity tied to FIFA World Cup meals, collectible cups, and Squishmallows could help drive customer traffic and add some sales momentum. McDonald’s FIFA World Cup meals with Squishmallows and 9 collectible cups are here
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and investor commentary remains generally supportive, with reports noting McDonald’s continues to attract attention as a defensive, widely followed stock. McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Is a Trending Stock: Facts to Know Before Betting on It
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling by executive Joseph Erlinger may weigh on sentiment slightly, even though such sales do not necessarily reflect a change in business outlook. Joseph Erlinger Sells 5,252 Shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Some recent coverage has also raised concerns about customer pushback on operational changes and workplace safety issues, which could create headline risk if they persist. Should McDonald’s AI Drive Thru Push and Safety Scrutiny Require Action From McDonald’s (MCD) Investors?

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of MCD opened at $284.88 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $202.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $289.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $306.75. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $271.85 and a twelve month 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 for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 11,307 shares of company stock worth $3,262,622 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCD shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 11th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $306.00 in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Weiss Ratings cut McDonald’s from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $336.26.

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.