Waycross Partners LLC Purchases 55,562 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Waycross Partners LLC raised its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1,387.3% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 59,567 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 55,562 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s accounts for 1.8% of Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th largest position. Waycross Partners LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $18,513,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Peterson Wealth Services boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3,294.5% during the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 11,779 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after acquiring an additional 11,432 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 84.4% in the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 35,510 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,853,000 after purchasing an additional 16,252 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Sarl increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 64,256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $19,639,000 after purchasing an additional 6,079 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $7,493,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,487 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on MCD. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $331.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Cfra upgraded shares of McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.32.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,456,440 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $267.74 on Monday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $264.09 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The firm has a market cap of $190.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.07, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $277.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $300.28.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.67 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were 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 of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.34%.

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target on McDonald’s to $390 from $385 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary continue to highlight McDonald’s value offerings, loyalty efforts, localized marketing, and menu innovation as ways the company can support customer traffic and defend sales trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is expected to report second-quarter earnings next month, with consensus calling for modest single-digit profit growth, keeping investor focus on whether traffic and margins improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product news, including the new Caesar sauce and other menu rollouts, is generating consumer interest, but the items appear more promotional than clearly material to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Articles questioning why McDonald’s stock is at nearly two-year lows and noting a 10.1% decline over the past six months versus a rising S&P 500 suggest investors are worried about relative underperformance and slowing momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary describing a “McProblem” that is not getting better points to continuing concerns about business execution, customer traffic, or overall sentiment toward the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent piece also urged investors to stay skeptical, indicating that while the stock may look attractive to some value investors, there are still fundamental questions weighing on shares.

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.