Insider Selling: McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Insider Sells $93,276.63 in Stock

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph Erlinger sold 333 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.11, for a total transaction of $93,276.63. Following the sale, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,166,370.74. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $279.42 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $198.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.04, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.43. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $271.98 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $295.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $308.57.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released 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 firm had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.62% and a negative return on equity of 442.10%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.67 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.34%.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s recent quarterly results beat expectations, with EPS and revenue both topping estimates and sales rising year over year, reinforcing the view that the company’s core business remains resilient.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain generally optimistic, with several firms keeping buy or overweight ratings and a consensus price target above the current trading range, which may help support sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: The company is teasing new marketing tie-ins such as a 2026 FIFA World Cup Happy Meal featuring Squishmallows, a move that could lift traffic and keep the brand top of mind with families and younger consumers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s continues to attract investor interest, with multiple articles noting the stock is widely watched and that analysts are still fairly upbeat about its future prospects. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An insider sale by Joseph Erlinger was disclosed, but the transaction was small relative to his remaining holdings and does not appear to signal a major change in outlook. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Several non-fundamental articles, including brand history and vintage-photo features, may boost visibility but are unlikely to materially affect earnings or valuation.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article highlighted that McDonald’s has underperformed the broader consumer discretionary group over the past year, which may remind investors that the shares still face valuation and performance challenges. Article Title

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank bought a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $2,890,438,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 30,979.0% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,596,340 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $806,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587,986 shares during the last quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP increased its position in McDonald’s by 9,867.5% during the fourth quarter. J. Stern & Co. LLP now owns 2,541,008 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $776,608,000 after acquiring an additional 2,515,515 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP increased its position in McDonald’s by 171.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,974,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 36.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,179,244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MCD shares. Robert W. Baird set a $305.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $305.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Tigress Financial raised their target price 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. Finally, Truist Financial raised their target price 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. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $334.45.

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.