McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Stock: Focused Investors LLC Lowers Stake

Focused Investors LLC reduced its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 16.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,600 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 59,200 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s makes up about 3.0% of Focused Investors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Focused Investors LLC’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $71,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,080,505 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $9,752,921,000 after acquiring an additional 646,675 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $1,359,276,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 17.2% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 3,637,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,130,587,000 after acquiring an additional 533,448 shares during the last quarter. Swiss National Bank raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 6.9% during the first quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 2,089,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $649,545,000 after acquiring an additional 134,480 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,909,321 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $593,366,000 after purchasing an additional 62,562 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Piper Sandler set a $286.00 target price on McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. HC Wainwright set a $250.00 price target on McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, September 25th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, September 21st. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, KeyCorp decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.76.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: New seasonal drinks and a planned Pokémon promotion could help attract customers and support sales. McDonald’s is also expanding its beverage push. Article: McDonald’s launches 2026 holiday menu with new seasonal drinks
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s is scheduled to report third-quarter results before the market opens on Nov. 4. Analysts expect modest profit growth, but the report and outlook will be closely watched for signs that weaker U.S. traffic and higher expenses are pressuring margins. Article: McDonald’s Stock Rests on Full-Year Earnings Growth
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings coverage points to a tough consumer backdrop and potentially slower sales growth, with soft U.S. customer traffic, rising costs and operational issues weighing on near-term expectations. Article: McDonald’s Q3 sales expected to slow amid tough consumer backdrop
• Negative Sentiment: A judge declined to dismiss a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging McDonald’s misled customers about the McRib’s meat. The case proceeding creates legal and reputational risk, though no outcome or financial impact has been determined. Article: McDonald’s loses bid to dismiss McRib lawsuit
• Negative Sentiment: U.S. lawmakers questioned the CEO about algorithmic pricing tools, raising the prospect of further scrutiny of the company’s pricing practices. Article: US lawmakers question McDonald’s CEO about algorithmic pricing practices

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $262.75 on Wednesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $229.20 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $247.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $282.99. The company has a market capitalization of $185.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $7.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 572.06% and a net margin of 31.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.83 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.93 per share. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.44%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.