Strs Ohio Lowers Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Strs Ohio cut its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 206,993 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,525 shares during the quarter. Strs Ohio’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $63,263,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,112,675,000 after acquiring an additional 703,458 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.6% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,024,857 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,643,704,000 after acquiring an additional 196,505 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 6.4% in the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,757,967 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,445,899,000 after acquiring an additional 286,284 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.5% in the third quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,422,014 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,343,501,000 after acquiring an additional 21,168 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake 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 worth $1,336,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,244 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Guggenheim decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sixteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $340.93.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $286.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $203.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.43. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $314.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $311.73. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $283.47 and a one year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s rolled out an all‑purple “Grimace” menu and relaunched the viral Grimace milkshake — a pop‑culture promotion expected to drive short‑term foot traffic and social‑media buzz, which can lift same‑store sales and AUVs. McDonald’s unveils purple Grimace menu featuring viral milkshake comeback
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is pushing a new lineup of six hand‑crafted drinks (boba, “dirty” sodas and themed accessories). Management’s beverage push targets a high‑margin category and supports the broader thesis that drinks can be a multi‑billion growth engine for the chain. McDonald’s drops 6 new drinks with unusual accessories
• Neutral Sentiment: Local expansion news — a new McDonald’s site planned in Rockford — signals steady franchise development but is unlikely to move the stock materially on its own. New McDonald’s to be built on W. Riverside in Rockford
• Negative Sentiment: A widely circulated idea of a $20 “unlimited fries” subscription was fact‑checked and found to be inaccurate — removing a potential recurring‑revenue catalyst investors may have hoped for. Fact check: Is McDonald’s launching $20 subscription with unlimited fries?
• Negative Sentiment: The Street reports McDonald’s is adjusting menu “protein hacks” as beef prices rise — higher commodity costs pose a margin risk even as the company seeks menu workarounds. McDonald’s reveals protein hacks as beef prices rise
• Negative Sentiment: Erste Group trimmed its FY2027 EPS estimate and downgraded MCD to a “Hold,” a mild analyst headwind that can weigh on sentiment. McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Cut to “Hold” at Erste Group Bank

Insider Activity

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total transaction of $100,805.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,442,042.24. The trade was a 3.96% 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 sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.