Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc Acquires 4,534 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc increased its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 99.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,092 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,534 shares during the period. Fragasso Financial Advisors Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 4,008.8% in the 2nd quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,230 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,768,000 after purchasing an additional 82,180 shares during the period. Ridgewood Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,026,000. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 16.9% in the second quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,859 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 7.1% in the second quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,471,725 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $397,822,000 after purchasing an additional 97,060 shares during the period. Finally, Chapin Davis Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 242.2% in the 3rd quarter. Chapin Davis Inc. now owns 8,251 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,905,000 after acquiring an additional 5,840 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s was identified as a relatively safe, steady stock, which may appeal to investors seeking lower volatility and defensive exposure. 3 Safe-and-Steady Stocks with Exciting Potential
• Positive Sentiment: The consensus price target is approximately $295.94, implying substantial upside from recent trading levels. A former hedge fund manager also called the shares “moderately undervalued” and a potential buying opportunity. McDonald’s Corporation Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $295.94 McDonald’s Stock Moderately Undervalued
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is emphasizing chicken and beverages as growth categories, but the strategy faces strong competition from Chick-fil-A and coffee chains, which are reportedly capturing more customer spending. McDonald’s is leaning into chicken and drinks to grow
• Negative Sentiment: Restaurant NEXT requires U.S. drive-thru franchisees to invest roughly $800,000 per location in technology and operating upgrades. Franchisee resistance raises concerns about implementation costs, returns and near-term profitability. McDonald’s $800,000 overhaul hits resistance from within
• Negative Sentiment: Promotions and value meals have not yet generated strong demand, suggesting continued pressure on U.S. traffic, pricing power and margins. McDonald’s Could Still Go Lower
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2026 EPS forecast to $12.87 from $12.92 and its FY2027 forecast to $13.80 from $13.96. Although the estimates remain close to consensus, the downward revisions reinforce concerns about earnings momentum.
• Neutral Sentiment: A viral claim that McDonald’s lost a lawsuit involving Jamie Oliver lacks supporting evidence, limiting its immediate credibility as a stock catalyst. Posts claim McDonald lost lawsuit to Jamie Oliver

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Tigress Financial boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Evercore decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Daiwa Securities Group cut their target price on McDonald’s from $309.00 to $293.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. HSBC decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $357.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $295.94.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $0.40 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $236.05. 1,754,803 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,220,852. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $254.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $273.77. The company has a market cap of $167.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.44. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $229.20 and a 12-month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.32 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.72% and a negative return on equity of 572.06%. The company’s revenue was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.85 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.93 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.44%.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.