Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Acquires 2,233 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 23,720 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,233 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $7,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 72,351,127 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $22,112,675,000 after acquiring an additional 703,458 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 35,983,997 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,997,789,000 after purchasing an additional 959,140 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,038,519 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,195,965,000 after purchasing an additional 76,090 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,474,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,895,768,000 after purchasing an additional 277,617 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,890,438,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE:MCD traded down $1.56 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $274.93. 2,978,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,490,551. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $278.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $301.85. The firm has a market cap of $195.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.41. McDonald’s Corporation has a one year low of $264.53 and a one year high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.67 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.91 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.34%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total transaction of $769,108.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,456,440 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is leaning into beverages with a new custom drink push, including a Dirty Dr. Pepper-style offering, which could help drive traffic and lift average ticket sizes as chains compete for drink sales. McDonald’s Dirty Dr. Pepper Leads Its New Custom Drink Push
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is also using promotions and limited-time offers, including free fries for National French Fry Day and a BT21 Happy Meal rollout, to support customer engagement and near-term sales momentum. Free fries article BT21 Happy Meals article
• Positive Sentiment: Some recent commentary suggests McDonald’s remains a defensible consumer name, with analysts and market writers highlighting its cash generation, brand strength, and potential to benefit from event-driven marketing around the FIFA World Cup. FIFA World Cup growth strategy article
• Neutral Sentiment: Several lifestyle pieces about ordering hacks, retro campaigns, and menu combinations are generating buzz, but these appear more like brand-interest stories than material stock drivers. Filet-O-Fish and Snack Wrap article Ordering hack article Vinyl record campaign article
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s has also been the subject of mixed third-party coverage comparing it with other consumer names and discussing macro risks, but these articles do not signal a clear company-specific catalyst on their own. McDonald’s or Pfizer article Index exit and oil shock article
• Negative Sentiment: A Deutsche Bank note says McDonald’s U.S. comparable sales likely hit a new low in the second quarter, reinforcing worries that traffic and same-store sales may be weakening. US sales likely hit new low article
• Negative Sentiment: Recent market pieces also note that McDonald’s has been registering bigger daily declines than the broader market, suggesting investors remain cautious heading into upcoming sales and earnings-related updates. Registers a bigger fall than the market article

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price objective on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $370.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $334.96.

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.