McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Position Lessened by Synergy Asset Management LLC

Synergy Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 82.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,371 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 15,708 shares during the period. Synergy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,030,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,780,712,000. Viking Global Investors LP increased 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 worth $913,157,000 after buying an additional 1,974,998 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in McDonald’s by 96.0% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 4,032,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,188,147,000 after acquiring an additional 1,974,751 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $1,336,155,000 after acquiring an additional 1,179,244 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,090,849 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $309.00 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $283.47 and a twelve month high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $219.51 billion, a PE ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $321.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $311.50.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Major new pop-culture push — McDonald’s launched two “adult” Happy Meals and five new menu items tied to Netflix’s KPop Demon Hunters, a cross-promotional campaign expected to drive traffic and social buzz. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Revenue upside potential — Coverage estimates the KPop Demon Hunters promotion could generate large incremental sales (one headline projects up to ~$100M in a short window), supporting near-term top-line upside. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fund manager endorsement — A portfolio manager publicly favored MCD over high-growth names like NVDA on valuation/stability grounds, which can attract defensive money into the stock. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Operational efficiency story — McDonald’s Force in France said it improved finance/ad operations with Esker automation, implying lower costs and better ROI on ad spends. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Brand/product buzz — Multiple outlets covered the menu launches and local rollouts (Chicago, toy tie-ins), which boosts awareness but does not guarantee sustained comp growth. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent price action/history — MCD had traded higher recently (closed up recent session), but today’s move shows profit-taking/volatility after those gains. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Technical/flow headwind — Analysts flagged MCD as oversold on RSI readings recently, signaling heavy selling pressure and potential short-term volatility despite fundamentals. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Questionable LTO effectiveness — Industry commentary suggests limited-time offers may be less effective than in the past, which could cap the long-term lift from promotional tie-ins. Read More.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCD. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Guggenheim reduced their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. BTIG Research increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.69.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,277 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.35, for a total transaction of $8,706,883.95. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $7,587,915. The trade was a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204 in the last ninety days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.