Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its position in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 32,857 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 4,425 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $10,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 4.7% in the first quarter. Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $465,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Western Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 16.0% during the first quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,707 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $6,746,000 after purchasing an additional 2,991 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 9.1% during the first quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 2,199 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares during the period. Orographic Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter worth $1,631,000. Finally, Silicon Valley Capital Partners grew its position in McDonald's by 36.8% in the 1st quarter. Silicon Valley Capital Partners now owns 379 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $118,000 after buying an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $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 available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 28th. The shares were 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 $1,744,760.48. This trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

More McDonald's News

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on McDonald's from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut McDonald's from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Evercore set a $320.00 price target on McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $333.32.

McDonald's Stock Down 1.0%

McDonald's stock opened at $268.69 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $275.11 and a 200-day moving average of $297.88. McDonald's Corporation has a 52-week low of $260.96 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $190.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.15, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.34%.

McDonald's Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MCD? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report).

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.