AIA Group Ltd Sells 9,620 Shares of McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• AIA Group Ltd reduced its McDonald’s stake by 28.9% in the first quarter, selling 9,620 shares and ending with 23,682 shares valued at about $7.36 million.
• McDonald’s continues to draw mixed Wall Street attention: several analysts still have buy ratings, but recent price-target cuts and commentary point to concerns about underperformance and slowing momentum.
• The company recently beat quarterly earnings estimates and paid a $1.86 per-share dividend, but the stock remains near its 52-week low, suggesting investors are weighing solid fundamentals against weaker market performance.

AIA Group Ltd cut its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 28.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,682 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 9,620 shares during the quarter. AIA Group Ltd's holdings in McDonald's were worth $7,360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peterson Wealth Services raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 3,294.5% in the 4th quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 11,779 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $3,600,000 after buying an additional 11,432 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 84.4% during the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 35,510 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $10,853,000 after acquiring an additional 16,252 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl boosted its position in shares of McDonald's by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 64,256 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $19,639,000 after acquiring an additional 6,079 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $7,493,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. raised its position 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 worth $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about McDonald's

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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCD. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price objective on McDonald's in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BTIG Research reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McDonald's from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of McDonald's from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Evercore set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, May 8th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $336.32.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total value of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,456,440 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $267.74 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $277.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $300.28. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $264.09 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The company 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.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 61.34%.

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.

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