Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC Sells 5,057 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 7.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 63,172 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,057 shares during the quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $17,947,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Peterson Wealth Services grew its position in McDonald’s by 3,294.5% in the fourth quarter. Peterson Wealth Services now owns 11,779 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,600,000 after acquiring an additional 11,432 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 84.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 35,510 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,853,000 after acquiring an additional 16,252 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Sarl lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 64,256 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $19,639,000 after acquiring an additional 6,079 shares during the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $7,493,000. Finally, Pittenger & Anderson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 21.9% in the 4th quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,487 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $6,567,000 after purchasing an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 27th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.32.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target on McDonald’s to $390 from $385 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling confidence that the stock has meaningful upside from current levels.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage and commentary continue to highlight McDonald’s value offerings, loyalty efforts, localized marketing, and menu innovation as ways the company can support customer traffic and defend sales trends.
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is expected to report second-quarter earnings next month, with consensus calling for modest single-digit profit growth, keeping investor focus on whether traffic and margins improve.
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent product news, including the new Caesar sauce and other menu rollouts, is generating consumer interest, but the items appear more promotional than clearly material to near-term earnings.
• Negative Sentiment: Articles questioning why McDonald’s stock is at nearly two-year lows and noting a 10.1% decline over the past six months versus a rising S&P 500 suggest investors are worried about relative underperformance and slowing momentum.
• Negative Sentiment: Commentary describing a “McProblem” that is not getting better points to continuing concerns about business execution, customer traffic, or overall sentiment toward the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: One recent piece also urged investors to stay skeptical, indicating that while the stock may look attractive to some value investors, there are still fundamental questions weighing on shares.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:MCD opened at $267.74 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $277.07 and its 200-day moving average is $300.33. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $264.09 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $190.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.41.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.67 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.88 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. This represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,456,440 in the last ninety days. 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.