First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stake in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,165 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,709 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $70,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1,616.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 103 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, reinforcing its reputation as a steady income stock and highlighting continued cash generation. McDONALD’S ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research kept a buy rating on McDonald’s and said the stock still offers meaningful upside, even after cutting its price target to $350 from $370. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Recent consumer-focused coverage around McValue packs, online availability, and a new dipping sauce suggests McDonald’s is still leaning on value-driven promotions and menu innovation to drive traffic. Here’s what’s new at McDonald’s this week
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage highlighting McDonald’s new McValue packs and online ordering is more promotional than financial, so it may help awareness but does not yet prove a material sales lift. McDonald’s McValue packs now available online. Here’s how to score one
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media continue to frame McDonald’s as a defensive dividend name, but that alone is not enough to offset broader concerns about consumer spending. These 4 Dividend Stocks Are Money-Printing Machines
• Negative Sentiment: New research indicates restaurant customers remain highly price sensitive despite lower gas prices, which is a warning sign for traffic and margins at McDonald’s. McDonald’s (MCD) Faces Stubborn Price Sensitive Traffic Despite Lower Gas Prices
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald’s recently hit a new 52-week low, and commentary around the stock suggests investors are waiting for the August 4 earnings report before buying the dip. McDonald’s Just Hit a New 52-Week Low. Don’t Buy the Dip Until After August 4.
• Negative Sentiment: StockTwits-style coverage also points to McDonald’s trading near 52-week lows amid broader concerns about weakening consumer demand. Why Did PEGA, ISRG, MCD Stocks Plunge To 52-Week Lows Today?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $334.32.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $264.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.87. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $260.96 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. McDonald’s’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 61.34%.

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.