McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Position Trimmed by Exchange Traded Concepts LLC

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC decreased its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 65,028 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 7,488 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $19,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 11,130 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,402,000 after purchasing an additional 933 shares during the last quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Generali Investments CEE investicni spolecnost a.s. now owns 28,978 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,857,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782 shares during the period. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 17,306 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $5,289,000 after purchasing an additional 1,758 shares in the last quarter. Petros Family Wealth LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $259,000. Finally, Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 4,706 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Guggenheim cut their price target on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $339.69.

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: KPop Demon Hunters promotion could drive significant near-term sales and traffic — some outlets estimate a large, rapid revenue boost from the campaign. How ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ meals could make McDonald’s $100M in just a few days
• Positive Sentiment: Company is leveraging pop-culture partnerships with two new adult Happy Meals and five menu items — a proven traffic driver for McDonald’s. McDonald’s unveils 2 new adult Happy Meals, 5 menu items
• Positive Sentiment: Some investors/strategists continue to prefer MCD for defensive, cash-generating exposure versus higher-growth names, supporting buy-side interest. Why this portfolio manager prefers McDonald’s stock over Nvidia
• Neutral Sentiment: Consensus analyst rating is “Hold” (mix of buy/hold/sell), indicating no broad upgrade momentum from the sell-side. McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts
• Neutral Sentiment: Technical note: some analysts/market watchers flag MCD as oversold on short-term indicators, which can prompt bargain-hunting but also signals recent selling pressure. 4 Consumer Favorites Look Oversold Right Now: Disney, McDonald’s and More
• Negative Sentiment: Not all publicity is positive — at least one ad tied to the promotion drew fan criticism, which could temper engagement or spark short-term negative PR. KPop Demon Hunters McDonald’s ad isn’t for all the fans

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204 over the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $306.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.55 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.51. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $283.47 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.45.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

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.