McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Bought by Martingale Asset Management L P

Key Points

• Martingale Asset Management L P increased its stake in McDonald's by 1,568.4% in Q3, adding 69,591 shares to hold 74,028 shares valued at about $22.5 million.
• McDonald's beat Q expectations with EPS of $3.12 (vs. $3.05) and revenue of $7.01B (vs. $6.81B), and declared a quarterly dividend of $1.86 (annualized $7.44, yield 2.3%).
• Insiders have sold roughly 74,143 shares (~$24.5M) in the last 90 days, while analysts are split (17 Buy, 13 Hold, 2 Sell) resulting in a consensus "Hold" rating and a $339.69 price target, with several firms raising targets up to $380.

Martingale Asset Management L P grew its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1,568.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 74,028 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after acquiring an additional 69,591 shares during the period. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in McDonald's were worth $22,496,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,647,669 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $21,773,010,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in McDonald's by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $10,175,800,000 after purchasing an additional 272,139 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 29,382.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,676,339,000 after buying an additional 5,718,087 shares during the period. Finally, Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,412,069,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price objective on McDonald's in a report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $339.69.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $328.34, for a total value of $862,220.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,733 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,867,393.22. This represents a 23.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This trade represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 74,143 shares of company stock valued at $24,517,724. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.3%

MCD opened at $324.09 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $230.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.51. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $319.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $311.43. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $283.47 and a 52 week high of $341.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald's

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

• Positive Sentiment: Value strategy could increase traffic and win back price‑sensitive customers — McDonald’s plans $3 items and $4 breakfast deals starting in April, which investors view as a demand stimulus. McDonald's to launch new $3 value items in US starting April, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $385 and reiterated a Buy, citing McDonald’s multi‑year growth strategy and brand strength — a direct positive for investor sentiment. Tigress Financial Upgrades McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Digital & loyalty tailwinds: McDonald’s loyalty ecosystem (near ~210M active users) can lift visit frequency and enable targeted promotions that amplify the value push. Can MCD's Digital Ecosystem Turn Loyalty Into Higher Visit Frequency?
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing & product chatter (Big Arch review, menu renames, viral CEO burger video) raise brand visibility but are unlikely to change near‑term fundamentals by themselves. McDonald's Big Arch review
• Neutral Sentiment: PR/branding note: CEO’s viral burger video and meme-driven engagement have monetization and awareness upside but are incremental to core sales drivers. How McDonald's CEO's viral burger video turned memes into money
• Negative Sentiment: Margin/public‑reaction risk: Some online voices flag concerns the deeper discounting could pressure margins or signal desperation, a potential risk if traffic lift and upsells don’t offset lower price points. McDonald's planning value menu, internet has one major concern
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: Executive Joseph Erlinger sold ~2,626 shares (~$862k), which can be interpreted as a mild negative signal even though such sales may be routine. Insider sale filing

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.

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