5,465 McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Toth Financial Advisory Corp

Key Points

• Toth Financial Advisory Corp. reduced its McDonald’s stake by 18.7%, selling 5,465 shares in the third quarter and retaining 23,705 shares valued at approximately $5.47 million. Institutional investors collectively own 70.29% of the company.
• McDonald’s raised its quarterly dividend to $1.93, or $7.72 annually, representing a 3.3% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $295.94, above the reported trading price of $236.75.
• The company’s turnaround faces execution challenges, including weak U.S. traffic, franchisee resistance to remodeling costs, consumer concerns about value, and a proposed antitrust lawsuit related to its AI-assisted pricing tool.

Toth Financial Advisory Corp lowered its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 18.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,705 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 5,465 shares during the period. Toth Financial Advisory Corp's holdings in McDonald's were worth $5,474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald's by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 5,590 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,718,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Jacobsen Capital Management increased its stake in McDonald's by 2.9% during the first quarter. Jacobsen Capital Management now owns 1,267 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $394,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Sterling Investment Counsel LLC now owns 5,303 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,648,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 11.0% in the first quarter. Legacy Wealth Managment LLC ID now owns 372 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.5% during the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 1,532 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $476,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald's News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s increased its quarterly dividend and accelerated the timing of its dividend decision, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock. The appointment of a new U.S. president could also help address softer domestic traffic and improve execution. What Is McDonald's Signaling With Its Faster Dividend And New US Chief?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts view McDonald’s compressed valuation, high-margin franchise model and strong cash generation as attractive after the stock’s decline. One Seeking Alpha analysis characterized the shares as an upgrade opportunity. McDonald's: Same-Store Sales Are An Overrated Metric
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s $8.5 billion “McDonald’s Next” remodeling initiative, including renewed emphasis on customer experience and PlayPlace locations, could support traffic and strengthen the brand over time. The Monopoly promotion, featuring a $1 million prize and digital gameplay, provides an additional near-term marketing boost. McDonald’s Wants Its Franchisees to Modernize
• Neutral Sentiment: Sanford C. Bernstein lowered its price target from $295 to $250 and kept a “market perform” rating. The revised target still implies upside, but the cut signals reduced confidence in McDonald’s growth trajectory. Bernstein McDonald's Price Target Update
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald’s faces a proposed federal class-action antitrust lawsuit alleging that its AI-assisted pricing tool shares nonpublic sales data and facilitates price coordination among franchisees. McDonald’s denies the allegations and says AI does not set menu prices, but the case creates legal, regulatory and reputational risk. McDonald’s sued over alleged AI-powered menu price-fixing
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. franchisees are reportedly resisting remodeling costs of at least $800,000 per restaurant. The pushback could delay the turnaround plan, pressure franchisee economics and increase execution risk. McDonald's Franchisees Push Back on Remodeling Costs
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that value promotions are not bringing customers back, alongside complaints about higher prices and smaller portions, highlight continuing traffic and consumer-perception problems.

McDonald's Trading Up 2.5%

Shares of MCD traded up $5.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $236.75. The company had a trading volume of 3,602,911 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,182,015. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $275.31. The stock has a market cap of $167.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $229.20 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.72% and a negative return on equity of 572.06%. The firm had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.13 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MCD. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on McDonald's from $325.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, September 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, September 21st. DZ Bank restated a "buy" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, September 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price objective on McDonald's from $290.00 to $285.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 24th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on McDonald's from $339.00 to $343.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $295.94.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.