Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH Boosts Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH grew its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,978 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,589 shares during the period. Fort Washington Investment Advisors Inc. OH’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $67,538,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 162.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 95.7% in the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 92 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 735.7% during the 3rd quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth about $37,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $309.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $321.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $311.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $283.47 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $219.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. BTIG Research raised their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $320.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.69.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major new pop-culture push — McDonald’s launched two “adult” Happy Meals and five new menu items tied to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, a cross-promotional campaign expected to drive traffic and social buzz. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue upside potential — Coverage estimates the KPop Demon Hunters promotion could generate large incremental sales (one headline projects up to ~$100M in a short window), supporting near-term top-line upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fund manager endorsement — A portfolio manager publicly favored MCD over high-growth names like NVDA on valuation/stability grounds, which can attract defensive money into the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational efficiency story — McDonald’s Force in France said it improved finance/ad operations with Esker automation, implying lower costs and better ROI on ad spends. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/product buzz — Multiple outlets covered the menu launches and local rollouts (Chicago, toy tie-ins), which boosts awareness but does not guarantee sustained comp growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent price action/history — MCD had traded higher recently (closed up recent session), but today’s move shows profit-taking/volatility after those gains. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow headwind — Analysts flagged MCD as oversold on RSI readings recently, signaling heavy selling pressure and potential short-term volatility despite fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Questionable LTO effectiveness — Industry commentary suggests limited-time offers may be less effective than in the past, which could cap the long-term lift from promotional tie-ins. Read More.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.35, for a total transaction of $8,706,883.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,587,915. This trade represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,722,204 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.