Pitcairn Co. Sells 3,036 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Pitcairn Co. reduced its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 30.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,802 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 3,036 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $2,067,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Perennial Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,676 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $509,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 104,658 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $31,805,000 after purchasing an additional 618 shares during the last quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 9.8% during the third quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 60,677 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $18,439,000 after purchasing an additional 5,407 shares during the period. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 2.6% during the third quarter. Reyes Financial Architecture Inc. now owns 1,960 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 35.8% in the third quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 717 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $327.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $232.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52-week low of $283.47 and a 52-week high of $341.75. The business’s fifty day moving average is $317.86 and its 200 day moving average is $310.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The business had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.26%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $356.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $338.07.

Key McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s renewed a multi‑year global technology partnership with Capgemini to modernize guest and crew platforms, supporting digital scale and the company’s “Accelerating the Arches” strategy — a potential margin and efficiency tailwind. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Management is pursuing aggressive unit growth — targeting 50,000 restaurants by 2027 with ~2,600 openings planned in 2026 — which is a clear growth catalyst if franchise economics hold and new units drive system sales. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Fresh and revived brand partnerships (new Happy Meal collaborations, a Crocs Happy Meal tie‑in, and NHL promotional items in Canada) boost marketing momentum and can drive incremental traffic and AUVs on a low incremental cost basis. Read More. Read More. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Macro/investor positioning trends such as the recent “HALO” trade (investors rotating into defensive, consumer‑staples names) could support demand for MCD as a relatively defensive, high‑quality consumer stock even as growth cycles shift. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: The nationwide rollout of the Big Arch Burger has drawn mixed consumer reviews and is testing premium pricing — raising short‑term execution and value perception questions that investors watch closely. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: A short, awkward viral video of McDonald’s CEO sampling the Big Arch triggered a social‑media backlash and competitor response (Burger King, Wendy’s taste‑test posts), creating reputational noise and distracting from product messaging — a near‑term sentiment headwind. Read More. Read More.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at $7,638,066. The trade was a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total transaction of $1,553,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer directly owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 71,517 shares of company stock valued at $23,655,503 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

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.