McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Bought by Equitable Trust Co.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 15.4% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,934 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,656 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,195,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 30,979.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $806,917,000 after purchasing an additional 2,587,986 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP raised its stake in 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 worth $776,608,000 after purchasing an additional 2,515,515 shares during the period. Viking Global Investors LP raised its stake in McDonald’s by 171.7% during the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in McDonald’s by 111.3% during the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,071,296 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $629,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,849 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Erste Group Bank cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Barclays cut their target price on McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.96.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares of the company’s stock, 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,456,440 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $276.32 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $278.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $302.04. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $264.53 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $196.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.34%.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is leaning on event-driven marketing, including a 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign and a new BT21 Happy Meal launch, to boost engagement, traffic, and family visits. These kinds of promotions can support near-term same-store sales. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company is also offering limited-time freebies and value deals, such as free fries for National French Fry Day, which may help bring customers in and reinforce McDonald’s value positioning. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle and entertainment stories, including the retro vinyl ad campaign and Happy Meal toy coverage, add brand buzz but are unlikely to materially change earnings expectations on their own. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst and market commentary remains mixed, with some articles highlighting McDonald’s as a beaten-down consumer name and others noting its stock weakness versus the broader market, suggesting sentiment is cautious rather than decisively negative. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Deutsche Bank said McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales likely hit a new low in the second quarter, reinforcing concerns that core domestic demand may be weakening and pressuring the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Broader commentary also points to a challenging fast-food environment and rising macro risks, including higher oil prices, which could squeeze margins and weigh on investor confidence. Article Title

McDonald’s 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.