Quantbot Technologies LP Cuts Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Quantbot Technologies LP cut its holdings in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 34.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,052 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,127 shares during the quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $1,231,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,647,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,773,010,000 after purchasing an additional 316,638 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the second 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 holdings in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,828,420 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,901,595,000 after buying an additional 276,065 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% during the 2nd 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 during the period. 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: 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.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.3%

McDonald’s stock opened at $327.34 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $317.86 and a 200 day moving average price of $310.90. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $283.47 and a 52 week high of $341.75. The stock has a market cap of $232.54 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.51.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.00, for a total value of $1,553,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 71,517 shares of company stock worth $23,655,503 in the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $338.07.

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.