Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC Acquires 1,972 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 27,221 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,972 shares during the quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $8,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $22,112,675,000 after acquiring an additional 703,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after acquiring an additional 959,140 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,895,768,000 after purchasing an additional 277,617 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $2,890,438,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 29th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.96.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is leaning into beverages with a new custom drink push, including a Dirty Dr. Pepper-style offering, which could help drive traffic and lift average ticket sizes as chains compete for drink sales. McDonald’s Dirty Dr. Pepper Leads Its New Custom Drink Push
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is also using promotions and limited-time offers, including free fries for National French Fry Day and a BT21 Happy Meal rollout, to support customer engagement and near-term sales momentum. Free fries article BT21 Happy Meals article
• Positive Sentiment: Some recent commentary suggests McDonald’s remains a defensible consumer name, with analysts and market writers highlighting its cash generation, brand strength, and potential to benefit from event-driven marketing around the FIFA World Cup. FIFA World Cup growth strategy article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle pieces about ordering hacks, retro campaigns, and menu combinations are generating buzz, but these appear more like brand-interest stories than material stock drivers. Filet-O-Fish and Snack Wrap article Ordering hack article Vinyl record campaign article
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s has also been the subject of mixed third-party coverage comparing it with other consumer names and discussing macro risks, but these articles do not signal a clear company-specific catalyst on their own. McDonald’s or Pfizer article Index exit and oil shock article
• Negative Sentiment: A Deutsche Bank note says McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales likely hit a new low in the second quarter, reinforcing worries that traffic and same-store sales may be weakening. US sales likely hit new low article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market pieces also note that McDonald’s has been registering bigger daily declines than the broader market, suggesting investors remain cautious heading into upcoming sales and earnings-related updates. Registers a bigger fall than the market article

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. This represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,456,440 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $274.93 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $264.53 and a one year high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $195.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $278.57 and its 200-day moving average is $301.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.91 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 61.34%.

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.