First Trust Advisors LP Raises Stake in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• First Trust Advisors LP increased its McDonald’s stake by 10.6% in the first quarter, ending with 226,165 shares valued at about $70.3 million.
• McDonald’s continues to get mixed Wall Street signals, but the overall analyst view remains Moderate Buy with an average price target of $334.32. BTIG and several other firms remain constructive, even as a few analysts have trimmed targets or downgraded the stock.
• The stock has been under pressure, recently trading near its 52-week low, while concerns persist that consumers remain price sensitive. At the same time, McDonald’s still reported solid quarterly results and announced a $1.86 per share dividend, reinforcing its appeal as an income stock.

First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 10.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 226,165 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after purchasing an additional 21,709 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP's holdings in McDonald's were worth $70,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Your Advocates Ltd. LLP purchased a new stake in McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in McDonald's in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 1,616.7% during the fourth quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 103 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald's

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share, reinforcing its reputation as a steady income stock and highlighting continued cash generation. McDONALD'S ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND
• Positive Sentiment: BTIG Research kept a buy rating on McDonald’s and said the stock still offers meaningful upside, even after cutting its price target to $350 from $370. Benzinga
• Positive Sentiment: Recent consumer-focused coverage around McValue packs, online availability, and a new dipping sauce suggests McDonald’s is still leaning on value-driven promotions and menu innovation to drive traffic. Here’s what’s new at McDonald’s this week
• Neutral Sentiment: Media coverage highlighting McDonald’s new McValue packs and online ordering is more promotional than financial, so it may help awareness but does not yet prove a material sales lift. McDonald's McValue packs now available online. Here's how to score one
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and media continue to frame McDonald’s as a defensive dividend name, but that alone is not enough to offset broader concerns about consumer spending. These 4 Dividend Stocks Are Money-Printing Machines
• Negative Sentiment: New research indicates restaurant customers remain highly price sensitive despite lower gas prices, which is a warning sign for traffic and margins at McDonald’s. McDonald's (MCD) Faces Stubborn Price Sensitive Traffic Despite Lower Gas Prices
• Negative Sentiment: McDonald’s recently hit a new 52-week low, and commentary around the stock suggests investors are waiting for the August 4 earnings report before buying the dip. McDonald’s Just Hit a New 52-Week Low. Don’t Buy the Dip Until After August 4.
• Negative Sentiment: StockTwits-style coverage also points to McDonald’s trading near 52-week lows amid broader concerns about weakening consumer demand. Why Did PEGA, ISRG, MCD Stocks Plunge To 52-Week Lows Today?

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 8,348 shares of company stock valued at $2,355,634 over the last 90 days. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Rothschild & Co Redburn raised McDonald's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. KeyCorp reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Tigress Financial upped their target price on McDonald's from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. Erste Group Bank downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 price target on McDonald's in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $334.32.

McDonald's Stock Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $264.46 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $275.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $298.87. McDonald's Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $260.96 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $187.90 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. McDonald's's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.67 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.86 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be 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 is Tuesday, September 1st. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 61.34%.

About McDonald's

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.

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.