McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 503,642 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 60,645 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned about 0.07% of McDonald’s worth $153,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,840,787,000 after buying an additional 921,936 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,175,800,000 after acquiring an additional 272,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,901,595,000 after acquiring an additional 276,065 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 29,382.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,676,339,000 after purchasing an additional 5,718,087 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.8%

MCD stock opened at $303.26 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $215.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.88, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $307.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $304.45. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $276.53 and a 52 week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,169,430. This trade represents a 39.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,760. The trade was a 28.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 42,516 shares of company stock worth $13,036,090 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

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

• Neutral Sentiment: Overview of Big Mac pricing through decades — contextual story on menu pricing and inflation; useful for investor perspective on price sensitivity and consumer sentiment but not an immediate earnings driver. Here’s how much a McDonald’s Big Mac cost the decade you were born
• Neutral Sentiment: Article flags McDonald’s among restaurant stocks mentioned as potentially oversold with attractive dividends — may draw value/income buyers over time but doesn’t create immediate upside. 2 Oversold Restaurant Stocks Offering Strong Dividends
• Neutral Sentiment: Profile piece on what a public figure eats at McDonald’s — pop-culture coverage that keeps the brand visible but has negligible direct financial impact. Donald Trump’s McDonald’s Diet Hasn’t Changed
• Negative Sentiment: Class-action lawsuit alleges the McRib contains no actual rib meat — legal and reputational risk that could trigger consumer backlash, regulatory scrutiny, and modest litigation costs if the case expands; investors may view this as a reason for short-term outflows or increased caution. Mc-What? McDonald’s Sued Over Claims Its McRib Has No Actual Rib Meat
• Negative Sentiment: Customer caught on camera attacking an employee at a McDonald’s location — localized incident that raises short-term reputational concerns around safety and in-store experience; unlikely to meaningfully affect corporate fundamentals but can amplify negative headlines. McDonald’s customer caught on camera launching flying kick at employee

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 31st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 24th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $324.57.

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.