Shepherd Street Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Shepherd Street Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,599 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock, valued at approximately $794,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 84.4% in 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. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 21.9% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 21,487 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $6,567,000 after acquiring an additional 3,866 shares in the last quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth approximately $7,493,000. Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in McDonald’s by 5.2% in the third quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 1,029,572 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $312,877,000 after acquiring an additional 51,039 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,557,348 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $475,972,000 after buying an additional 24,333 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Morgan Stanley set a $331.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $380.00 to $350.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $325.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $334.45.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $307.00, for a total value of $806,182.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,578,800. This trade represents a 23.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 8,681 shares of company stock worth $2,631,594 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 unveiled its new “McDonald’s NEXT” strategy, centered on automation, improved restaurant design, better-tasting food, stronger hospitality, and more effective social media marketing. Investors may view this as a clear roadmap to reignite traffic and long-term sales growth. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple articles highlighted that McDonald’s is leaning on value meals, chicken innovation, and restaurant upgrades to gain market share in a cautious consumer environment, which could help sustain demand even if spending stays weak. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer also named McDonald’s as a defensive stock to own outside the AI trade, suggesting it could benefit if investors rotate into steadier, out-of-favor sectors. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s strategy update also emphasizes making stores easier to run and improving efficiency, which could support margins over time but likely won’t show immediate results. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: An EVP recently sold shares, which can add some caution, but the transaction appears routine and is not by itself a strong fundamental warning. Article Title

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $276.61 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $271.98 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $196.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $294.66 and a 200-day moving average of $308.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced 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 company had revenue of $6.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.67 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.34%.

McDonald’s 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.