Insider Selling: McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Insider Sells 2,626 Shares of Stock

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $306.58, for a total value of $805,079.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,654,918.84. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD traded down $0.35 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $306.40. The stock had a trading volume of 1,138,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,256,222. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $276.53 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The firm has a market cap of $218.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.53. The business’s fifty day moving average is $308.14 and its 200 day moving average is $305.16.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.33 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 63.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCD shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, January 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $358.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald’s from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $328.88.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s Canada announced a year-long price lock on $5 meals, the first such public commitment in over a decade — a clear value play intended to drive traffic and protect comps in a price-sensitive market. McDonald’s Canada announces year-long price lock on $5 meals
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst coverage highlights resilient international markets where disciplined value, local marketing and scale are supporting comparable sales — a constructive sign for margins and cash flow outside the U.S. MCD’s International Markets Stay Resilient: What’s Supporting Comps?
• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is accelerating an AI-driven overhaul of services and operations — initiatives that can lower unit-level costs and improve speed/upsell over time, supportive for margins if rollout scales. McDonald’s making major changes to services, operations with AI push
• Positive Sentiment: Menu and promotion activity — including the return of a Pokémon Happy Meal and the rollout of McDonald’s biggest burger in the U.S. — point to marketing-driven traffic catalysts for early 2026. McDonald’s Pokémon Happy Meal to return. When, what toys may be inside McDonald’s brings its biggest burger ever to America after two-year wait
• Neutral Sentiment: Market preview pieces expect single-digit bottom-line growth for the upcoming quarter; modest growth that may limit upside surprises unless the company reports better-than-expected margin or comp lift. What to Expect From McDonald’s Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Armada named new leaders for its McDonald’s business unit — industry/agency-level changes that have limited direct impact on MCD’s fundamentals but may affect marketing execution. Armada Appoints Todd LeBlanc as President of Armada’s McDonald’s Business Unit and Sarah Wilkes as Chief Marketing Officer
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage notes new competitors taking aim at McDonald’s snack-wrap category, which could pressure share and demand for certain product tiers in localized markets. McDonald’s snack wrap just got some bigger competition—and fans say it’s a million times better

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Kathmere Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $569,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. CPA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. CPA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 11,105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,394,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Butensky & Cohen Financial Security Inc. now owns 18,553 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $5,670,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 7,279 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,225,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stablepoint Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Stablepoint Partners LLC now owns 21,373 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,532,000 after purchasing an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.