J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Raises Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 203,532 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,317 shares during the quarter. McDonald’s comprises 1.0% of J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $61,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.3% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,840,787,000 after buying an additional 921,936 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,175,800,000 after buying an additional 272,139 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,901,595,000 after acquiring an additional 276,065 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% in the second quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,676,339,000 after acquiring an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Limited‑edition FRIENDS Meal rollout — a branded collectible promotion that can drive short‑term foot traffic, social buzz and incremental Happy Meal sales to boost comps during the campaign window. McDonald’s launches limited-edition FRIENDS Meal with exclusive collectibles
• Positive Sentiment: Revival of most‑requested Happy Meal toys — leverages nostalgia to bring families back into stores and can lift attach rates and repeat visits; helpful for Kids segment and marketing efficiency. McDonald’s revives most-requested Happy Meal toys after 39 years
• Positive Sentiment: Bringing overseas fan favorites (including a new burger) to U.S. menus — signals a deeper product pipeline and use of international innovation to refresh U.S. offerings, which can support same‑store sales and AUVs. McDonald’s bringing overseas fan favorites to US this year, including new burger
• Positive Sentiment: Company outlines big global plans for 2026 — expansion and international strategy updates suggest growth runway outside the U.S., which is important for long‑term revenue diversification. McDonald’s Has Huge Global Plans for 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: Menu tweaks and updates — ongoing menu optimization can incrementally affect traffic and margins but is part of routine product cadence rather than a transformational change. McDonald’s updates menu
• Neutral Sentiment: Human‑interest and PR pieces (superfan visiting 100+ restaurants; chef David Chang praising a country’s McDonald’s fried chicken) — positive brand reinforcement but limited direct financial impact. A McDonald’s superfan dined at over 100 of its restaurants around the world. See the most unique. This Country’s McDonald’s Serves The Best Fried Chicken, According To David Chang
• Negative Sentiment: Competitive response from Domino’s adding bigger deals following McDonald’s menu/price play — could signal margin or mix pressure if competitors escalate promotions, squeezing near‑term pricing power. Domino’s follows McDonald’s menu plan, adds bigger deals
• Neutral Sentiment: Market note: analysts/coverage and intraday price lift referenced by Zacks — reflects short‑term investor reaction to the above news rather than new fundamental data. McDonald’s (MCD) Rises Higher Than Market: Key Facts

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Guggenheim raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 24th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $328.88.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,169,430. This represents a 39.40% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 6,567 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.50, for a total transaction of $2,006,218.50. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,407,133. This trade represents a 58.78% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 45,142 shares of company stock worth $13,841,169 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $312.75 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $309.03 and a 200 day moving average of $306.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $283.47 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share 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.