Swiss National Bank Buys 134,480 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 6.9% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 2,089,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 134,480 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $649,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 21.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,692,000 after buying an additional 1,649 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $563,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 11.4% in the second quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $589,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. United Bank raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.0% during the second quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,367,000 after acquiring an additional 459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.5% during the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,938 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,780,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $267.74 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $264.09 and a 1 year high of $341.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $190.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50-day moving average is $277.07 and its 200 day moving average is $300.33.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.09. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 442.10% and a net margin of 31.62%.The business had revenue of $6.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.86 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.8%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.34%.

McDonald’s News Summary

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.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 30.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.32, for a total transaction of $1,493,248.64. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at $2,198,930.88. The trade was a 40.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,681 shares of company stock valued at $2,456,440. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup cut their target price on McDonald’s from $375.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra upgraded McDonald’s to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered 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 McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $336.32.

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.