Forsta AP Fonden Reduces Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Forsta AP Fonden reduced its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 13.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 158,780 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 24,320 shares during the quarter. Forsta AP Fonden’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $48,528,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Patrick Mauro Investment Advisor INC. now owns 26,872 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,213,000 after buying an additional 2,989 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,890,438,000. Madison Wealth Partners Inc lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 47.5% during the 4th quarter. Madison Wealth Partners Inc now owns 1,510 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $461,000 after buying an additional 486 shares in the last quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 26.6% during the 4th quarter. Amica Mutual Insurance Co. now owns 33,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,129,000 after buying an additional 6,959 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Partners LLC now owns 2,152 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $658,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS and revenue both topping estimates and sales rising year over year, reinforcing the view that the company’s core business remains resilient.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain generally optimistic, with several firms keeping buy or overweight ratings and a consensus price target above the current trading range, which may help support sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is teasing new marketing tie-ins such as a 2026 FIFA World Cup Happy Meal featuring Squishmallows, a move that could lift traffic and keep the brand top of mind with families and younger consumers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s continues to attract investor interest, with multiple articles noting the stock is widely watched and that analysts are still fairly upbeat about its future prospects. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale by Joseph Erlinger was disclosed, but the transaction was small relative to his remaining holdings and does not appear to signal a major change in outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several non-fundamental articles, including brand history and vintage-photo features, may boost visibility but are unlikely to materially affect earnings or valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article highlighted that McDonald’s has underperformed the broader consumer discretionary group over the past year, which may remind investors that the shares still face valuation and performance challenges. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Cfra raised shares of McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $334.45.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $806,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,578,800. This represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,918 shares of company stock valued at $1,862,485. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.5%

McDonald’s stock opened at $279.42 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $295.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $308.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $198.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.43. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $271.98 and a 1-year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.34%.

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.