Capital World Investors Sells 2,036 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Capital World Investors cut its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 0.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,527,140 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,036 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors’ holdings in McDonald’s were worth $464,083,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 162.5% in the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Miller Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Loyalty momentum: McDonald’s loyalty program is near 210 million active users across 70+ markets, improving engagement and providing a direct lever to drive repeat sales and targeted promotions as it targets 250M members by 2027. Will McDonald’s 210M Loyalty Users Fuel Long-Term Growth?
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support: A published price-target raise to $385 signals at least one analyst’s bullish view on upside vs. current levels, which can support sentiment and buy-side interest. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Price Target Raised to $385.00
• Positive Sentiment: New product and partner activations: Recent consumer-facing moves — a spring menu featuring Cadbury items and a Crocs Happy Meal promotion — are small-but-visible initiatives that can boost traffic, social buzz and limited-time sales. McDonald’s just unveiled its new spring menu — Cadbury products will send fans wild McDonald’s rolls out Crocs Happy Meal. What comes inside?
• Positive Sentiment: Brand & marketing traction: The Big Arch burger rollout and CEO-led taste-test moments have generated viral attention and sparked playful competitor responses — a sign of strong brand engagement that can translate into short-term traffic lifts. McDonald’s Big Arch Burger Tests Brand Power And Rich Valuation McDonald’s CEO’s Big Arch taste test sparked a war of fast-food copycats
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation debate: Recent analysis questions whether the current share price fully reflects McDonald’s fundamentals — pointing to strong brand and growth drivers but mixed valuation signals, which may temper buying conviction. Is McDonald’s (MCD) Share Price Justified After Recent Gains And Mixed Valuation Signals
• Neutral Sentiment: Product-level chatter: Lifestyle and menu stories (sauce comparisons, Filet‑O‑Fish nostalgia, rare-store features) keep the brand top-of-mind but are unlikely to move fundamentals materially. McDonald’s Big Mac Sauce Vs Big Arch Sauce: Here’s The Difference
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/operational risk: Analysis highlights exposure to high oil prices (logistics, delivery partner costs, packaging inputs and consumer pump sensitivity). A sustained spike in fuel could pressure margins, delivery economics and low-income consumer traffic. McDonald’s Real Risk From $150 Oil Has Nothing to Do With Costs

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BTIG Research increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Seventeen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $339.69.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,760. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 71,517 shares of company stock worth $23,655,503 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $327.74 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $283.47 and a one year high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $232.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50-day moving average is $319.06 and its 200 day moving average is $311.25.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

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.