McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Purchased by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Key Points

• Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 3.5% in the quarter, buying 3,238 shares to hold 95,456 shares worth about $29.01 million.
• McDonald's beat expectations for the quarter with EPS of $3.12 vs. $3.05 expected and revenue of $7.01 billion, and announced a quarterly dividend of $1.86 per share (annualized $7.44, ~2.3% yield).
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 71,517 shares worth roughly $23.66 million over the last quarter — including EVP Jonathan Banner's sale of 6,201 shares — leaving insiders with about 0.25% ownership.

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 95,456 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after buying an additional 3,238 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in McDonald's were worth $29,008,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 142.9% during the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald's during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 162.5% in the 3rd quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Traub Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about McDonald's

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald's renewed a multi‑year global technology partnership with Capgemini to modernize guest and crew platforms, supporting digital scale and the company’s "Accelerating the Arches" strategy — a potential margin and efficiency tailwind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pursuing aggressive unit growth — targeting 50,000 restaurants by 2027 with ~2,600 openings planned in 2026 — which is a clear growth catalyst if franchise economics hold and new units drive system sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fresh and revived brand partnerships (new Happy Meal collaborations, a Crocs Happy Meal tie‑in, and NHL promotional items in Canada) boost marketing momentum and can drive incremental traffic and AUVs on a low incremental cost basis. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/investor positioning trends such as the recent "HALO" trade (investors rotating into defensive, consumer‑staples names) could support demand for MCD as a relatively defensive, high‑quality consumer stock even as growth cycles shift. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The nationwide rollout of the Big Arch Burger has drawn mixed consumer reviews and is testing premium pricing — raising short‑term execution and value perception questions that investors watch closely. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A short, awkward viral video of McDonald’s CEO sampling the Big Arch triggered a social‑media backlash and competitor response (Burger King, Wendy’s taste‑test posts), creating reputational noise and distracting from product messaging — a near‑term sentiment headwind. Read More. Read More.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the company's 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 represents a 73.02% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $2,005,760. This trade represents a 28.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,517 shares of company stock worth $23,655,503. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp increased their target price on McDonald's from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald's from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $355.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of McDonald's from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $338.07.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $327.34 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a 1 year low of $283.47 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The business's fifty day moving average is $317.86 and its two-hundred day moving average is $310.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $232.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.3%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.26%.

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.

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