McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its McDonald's stake by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 78,746 shares and ending with 4.68 million shares worth about $1.43 billion.
• McDonald's continues to draw strong institutional interest, with several funds significantly increasing their positions and institutional investors now owning 70.29% of the stock.
• The company is balancing positive fundamentals with mixed sentiment: it recently raised its quarterly dividend to $1.86 per share and beat earnings estimates, but shares remain below recent moving averages amid concerns about valuation, menu reaction, and “shrinkflation” headlines.

Legal & General Group Plc reduced its stake in shares of McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,679,221 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 78,746 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.66% of McDonald's worth $1,430,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 36.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,396,837 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,336,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,244 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 111.3% in the third quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,071,296 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $629,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,849 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 927.5% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 827,547 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $251,483,000 after purchasing an additional 927,547 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 766.5% in the third quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 885,629 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $269,134,000 after purchasing an additional 783,416 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald's News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald's declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.86 per share, reinforcing its appeal as a dependable income stock and signaling ongoing confidence in cash generation. McDONALD'S ANNOUNCES QUARTERLY CASH DIVIDEND
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted McDonald's efforts to refresh its menu and customer experience, including new beverage additions, AI-driven drive-thru concepts, and other innovation-focused changes that could support traffic and sales. McDonald’s CEO shares major beverage menu additions
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald's confirmed plans for a restaurant in historic Castlemaine, a small expansion item that is unlikely to materially move the stock on its own. McDonald's confirms plan for restaurant in historic Castlemaine
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary suggested McDonald's investment story is shifting as growth and valuation expectations are reset, which reflects changing sentiment rather than a clear operational surprise. Why The McDonald's (MCD) Investment Story Is Shifting As Analysts Reset Growth And Valuation
• Negative Sentiment: Articles about “shrinkflation” and smaller McNuggets could pressure sentiment if consumers view McDonald's as offering less value, potentially weighing on brand perception. Shrinkflation hits McDonald's as customers say McNuggets are half the size they used to be
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting that customers are divided on McDonald's specialty drinks suggests product experimentation may not be universally resonating yet. Why McDonald's Customers Are Divided On Its Specialty Drinks

McDonald's Stock Up 0.1%

MCD stock opened at $282.48 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $200.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $299.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $309.34. McDonald's Corporation has a 52 week low of $271.98 and a 52 week high of $341.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.67 EPS. McDonald's's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is 61.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total value of $100,805.76. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,042.24. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,585 shares of company stock valued at $1,769,209. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $370.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $330.00 to $300.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $334.45.

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.

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.