Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Decreases Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 135,471 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 10,756 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $41,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 171.7% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $913,157,000 after buying an additional 1,974,998 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,396,837 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,336,155,000 after buying an additional 1,179,244 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 111.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,071,296 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $629,446,000 after buying an additional 1,090,849 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in McDonald’s by 927.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 827,547 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $251,483,000 after acquiring an additional 927,547 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 766.5% in the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 885,629 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $269,134,000 after acquiring an additional 783,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $334.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 6th. BTIG Research reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $370.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $340.93.

McDonald’s News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street expects McDonald’s promotional push and a viral burger launch could help offset consumer softness, supporting near‑term sales momentum. McDonald’s to report Q1 earnings as value push, viral burger launch may offset consumer softness
• Positive Sentiment: New product activity: McDonald’s rolled out six permanent specialty drinks and other menu items this week—initiatives that can boost guest counts and AUVs if adoption continues. A Look At McDonald’s (MCD) Valuation As New Specialty Drinks And Restaurant Changes Gain Attention
• Positive Sentiment: Market pricing and previews point to an earnings beat potential—consensus estimates (and some prediction markets) are optimistic on EPS and revenue, which could lead to a relief rally if results beat. McDonald’s earnings preview: prediction markets betting big on a beat
• Neutral Sentiment: Traders are actively pricing CEO comments into short-term markets—wording around loyalty, pricing and “Big Arch” promotions could move sentiment but outcomes are uncertain. McDonald’s Earnings Prediction Market Preview: What Will Chris Kempczinski Say?
• Neutral Sentiment: Dividend/income focus: coverage reminding investors of MCD’s 2.6% yield and buyback history—supports long-term investor demand but not a short‑term catalyst around earnings. How To Earn $500 A Month From McDonald’s Stock Ahead Of Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Competition: Burger King reported a strong U.S. comp‑sales gain, signaling share pressure in the category and raising risk that McDonald’s traffic or mix could underperform. How Burger King’s turnaround is taking a bite out of McDonald’s
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst caution: Erste Group downgraded MCD to Hold, citing middling profit growth and a sideways medium‑term outlook—pressure on sentiment ahead of the print. Erste Group Turns Cautious on McDonald’s (MCD), Downgrades to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Price momentum: coverage notes MCD hit 52‑week lows and has seen a pullback since its February highs—technical weakness can amplify downside if earnings disappoint. McDonald’s Stock Hits 52-Week Low Ahead of Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Reputational/customer pushback: reports about removing self‑serve soda machines and other changes have generated negative customer headlines that could temper same‑store traffic if broadly disliked. Why McDonald’s is getting rid of self-serve soda machines

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total value of $100,805.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,042.24. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

MCD stock opened at $283.71 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $312.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.57. The company has a market capitalization of $201.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.43. McDonald’s Corporation has a twelve month low of $282.40 and a twelve month high of $341.75.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.81 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 13.17 EPS for the current year.

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.