McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stock Acquired by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 13.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 138,769 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,203 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $32,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter worth $1,359,276,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 30,979.0% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $806,917,000 after buying an additional 2,587,986 shares during the period. J. Stern & Co. LLP grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9,867.5% in the 4th quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $776,608,000 after buying an additional 2,515,515 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 49.9% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,104,337 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $948,779,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033,041 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,997,789,000 after acquiring an additional 959,140 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, September 21st. Freedom Capital raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on McDonald’s from $290.00 to $285.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $295.94.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock traded up $5.19 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $236.07. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,207,002 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,184,619. The stock has a market cap of $167.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $229.20 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $256.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $275.31.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%.The company had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.19 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.93 per share. This represents a $7.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.44%.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts view McDonald’s compressed valuation, strong franchise-driven margins and cash generation as an opportunity. One recent analysis upgraded the shares, arguing that same-store sales may be an overstated measure of the company’s underlying quality. McDonald’s: Same-Store Sales Are An Overrated Metric
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s higher dividend and appointment of a new U.S. president signal continued confidence in shareholder returns and an effort to address softer domestic traffic. What Is McDonald’s Signaling With Its Faster Dividend And New US Chief?
• Positive Sentiment: The planned $8.5 billion modernization program could improve restaurant experience, speed and franchise economics over time, potentially supporting longer-term sales growth. McDonald’s Wants Its Franchisees to Modernize
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s was included in coverage of consumer-stock opportunities and appeared to benefit from broader restaurant-sector interest, including takeover speculation involving Chipotle; however, that speculation does not directly improve MCD’s fundamentals. Restaurant Stocks and Takeover Talk
• Negative Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein cut its price target from $295 to $250 and maintained a “market perform” rating, highlighting limited near-term upside and uncertainty over the growth trajectory.
• Negative Sentiment: A proposed antitrust class action alleges McDonald’s AI-assisted pricing tool enables franchisees to share nonpublic data and coordinate menu prices. McDonald’s denies the allegations and says the system only recommends prices and cannot set them directly. McDonald’s sued over alleged AI-powered menu price-fixing
• Negative Sentiment: Franchisees are reportedly resisting remodel costs of at least $800,000 per restaurant, raising concerns about execution, franchisee profitability and potential pressure on future investment. Meanwhile, discount campaigns such as $5 meals and $6 combos have reportedly failed to consistently bring customers back. McDonald’s Franchisees Push Back on Remodeling Costs

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.