Joseph Erlinger Sells 2,626 Shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.34, for a total transaction of $862,220.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,867,393.22. This trade represents a 23.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MCD opened at $324.09 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $283.47 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $230.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $319.82 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.43.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during 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%.McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Value strategy could increase traffic and win back price‑sensitive customers — McDonald’s plans $3 items and $4 breakfast deals starting in April, which investors view as a demand stimulus. McDonald’s to launch new $3 value items in US starting April, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $385 and reiterated a Buy, citing McDonald’s multi‑year growth strategy and brand strength — a direct positive for investor sentiment. Tigress Financial Upgrades McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Digital & loyalty tailwinds: McDonald’s loyalty ecosystem (near ~210M active users) can lift visit frequency and enable targeted promotions that amplify the value push. Can MCD’s Digital Ecosystem Turn Loyalty Into Higher Visit Frequency?
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing & product chatter (Big Arch review, menu renames, viral CEO burger video) raise brand visibility but are unlikely to change near‑term fundamentals by themselves. McDonald’s Big Arch review
• Neutral Sentiment: PR/branding note: CEO’s viral burger video and meme-driven engagement have monetization and awareness upside but are incremental to core sales drivers. How McDonald’s CEO’s viral burger video turned memes into money
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/public‑reaction risk: Some online voices flag concerns the deeper discounting could pressure margins or signal desperation, a potential risk if traffic lift and upsells don’t offset lower price points. McDonald’s planning value menu, internet has one major concern
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Executive Joseph Erlinger sold ~2,626 shares (~$862k), which can be interpreted as a mild negative signal even though such sales may be routine. Insider sale filing

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% during the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,412,069,000. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $776,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515,515 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Global Investors LP increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.69.

About McDonald’s

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.