McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Purchased by Janus Henderson Group PLC

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 119.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 701,199 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 382,280 shares during the quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $217,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MCD. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on McDonald’s from $331.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Barclays reduced 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. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.32.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.0%

MCD stock opened at $268.69 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $260.96 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $190.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.41. The business’s 50-day moving average is $275.11 and its 200 day moving average is $297.88.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.34%.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s declared a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, payable Sept. 16 to shareholders of record Sept. 1. The payout reinforces the stock’s appeal to income-focused investors. Dividend Strength and Softer Sales Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Technical analyst Jay Woods said MCD’s chart is beginning to move toward a potential buy signal, which could attract traders if momentum improves. McDonald’s Charts Are Starting to Coil Toward a Buy Signal
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” recommendation, while previews describe McDonald’s as a resilient global leader despite potentially unimpressive quarterly results. McDonald’s Receives Moderate Buy Recommendation
• Neutral Sentiment: Wall Street is focused on more than revenue and EPS for the quarter ended June 2026, including same-store sales, customer traffic, margins and management’s outlook. The earnings release is scheduled for Aug. 4. Countdown to McDonald’s Q2 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect slower same-store-sales growth, particularly because of pressure on lower-income customers. This has contributed to bearish earnings revisions ahead of the report. Dividend Strength and Softer Sales Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2026 and FY2027 EPS forecasts and retained a “Hold” rating, while UBS issued a pessimistic price forecast. Additional commentary suggests MCD may be roughly 9% expensive after a traffic slowdown. UBS Issues Pessimistic Forecast for McDonald’s

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.