Synergy Asset Management LLC Sells 15,708 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 82.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,371 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 15,708 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $328.34, for a total transaction of $862,220.84. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,393.22. The trade was a 23.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,722,204 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.9%

MCD stock opened at $309.00 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $283.47 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The company has a market cap of $219.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a fifty day moving average of $321.67 and a 200-day moving average of $311.50.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Guggenheim dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.69.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

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.

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.