McDonald’s Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. decreased its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 68,005 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 2,814 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $20,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Banque Transatlantique SA raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 58.0% during the first quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA now owns 248,826 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $71,829,000 after purchasing an additional 91,313 shares during the period. Hamilton Capital LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 35.2% during the 1st quarter. Hamilton Capital LLC now owns 3,145 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $982,000 after purchasing an additional 819 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in McDonald’s by 84.1% during the 2nd quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 141,775 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $41,422,000 after buying an additional 64,757 shares during the period. Welch Group LLC lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Welch Group LLC now owns 206,004 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $60,188,000 after buying an additional 2,180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 236.7% in the 3rd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 6,502 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,976,000 after buying an additional 4,571 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Barclays lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $362.00 to $358.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: New / limited‑time menu and marketing activations could boost traffic and AUVs in the near term — McDonald’s has relaunched a beefier Big Mac variation that typically drives incremental visits. McDonald’s brings back ‘Big Mac on steroids’ burger
• Positive Sentiment: Brand collaborations aimed at kids and families (Crayola Happy Meals) can lift traffic and frequency during promotional windows and help value perception. Crayola and McDonald’s Teaming up for Otherworldly New Happy Meals
• Neutral Sentiment: Nostalgia and PR pieces (e.g., origin story of the fried apple pie, celebrity gold cards) help brand equity but are unlikely to move revenue or margins meaningfully. The Original McDonald’s Fried Apple Pie Recipe Came From This Southern Family’s Kitchen
• Neutral Sentiment: Operational/consumer info (holiday hours, how‑to pieces, retrospectives on breakfast buffets) are background items for customers but don’t change investment theses. Will McDonald’s be open on New Year’s Day? Fast-food chain timings and more explored
• Neutral Sentiment: Product features and employee‑style pieces (e.g., McNuggets employee tips) are engagement/PR content with limited investor impact. How to enjoy McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets, employee-style
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage outlining “4 big changes” coming in 2026 — including pricing shifts — raises investor concern that higher menu prices or structural changes could pressure traffic or require tradeoffs between market share and margins. Investors view such signals cautiously given recent demand sensitivity. The 4 big changes coming to McDonald’s in 2026 — and how they’ll impact prices
• Negative Sentiment: Industry analysis (QSR) highlights McDonald’s need to “reestablish value,” implying recent weakness in comps and a potential near‑term pullback in traffic until value perception is restored — a near‑term risk to same‑store sales and consensus estimates. McDonald’s in 2025: A Race to Reestablish Value, and Some Grinch Magic

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 2,486 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $320.00, for a total transaction of $795,520.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,005,760. This represents a 28.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 3,195 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.82, for a total value of $977,094.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 6,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,861,832.16. This trade represents a 34.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090 over the last three months. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Price Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $308.54 on Tuesday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $308.03 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $304.14. The company has a market cap of $219.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.23 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st were paid a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

About McDonald’s

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.