Saxon Interests Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Saxon Interests Inc. increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 166.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,362 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,726 shares during the quarter. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,356,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 worth $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% in 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 raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in 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 last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% during 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 purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $2,890,438,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s is rolling out a BT21 x Happy Meal collaboration tied to BTS/LINE FRIENDS, which could boost traffic and social-media buzz among younger consumers. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The company is also bringing back a fan-favorite product, the fried apple pie, and promoting limited-time fries giveaways, both of which can support short-term sales and restaurant traffic. Article Title Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Several pieces framed McDonald’s as a quality, low-stress, dividend-friendly stock, reinforcing its appeal as a defensive hold during market volatility. Article Title Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and market commentators are debating McDonald’s versus rivals like Chipotle and Burger King, but these are mostly comparison pieces rather than fresh company-specific catalysts. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity and technical commentary suggest traders may be positioning for a bigger move in MCD, but the direction is not clear from the headlines alone. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Rival fast-food chains are stepping up competition with new chicken sandwiches and other menu pushes, which could pressure McDonald’s sales if competitors keep stealing share. Article Title Article Title

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on MCD shares. Erste Group Bank cut shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 27th. Evercore set a $350.00 price target on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered McDonald’s from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $335.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,763 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $278.36, for a total value of $769,108.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,744,760.48. The trade was a 30.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 5,252 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 7,734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,198,930.88. This trade represents a 40.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,307 shares of company stock worth $3,262,622 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $282.30 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $200.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.27, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50 day moving average of $279.44 and a 200-day moving average of $302.61. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $264.53 and a 12-month 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, 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 the consensus estimate of $6.47 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.67 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.93 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.