Greenleaf Trust Has $6.23 Million Stock Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Greenleaf Trust lowered its position in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 20.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,507 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 5,128 shares during the quarter. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $6,232,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Hamilton Capital LLC grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 35.2% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.1% during 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 during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake 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. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 143,492 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $43,606,000 after acquiring an additional 3,774 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCD. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 19th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Mizuho raised McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $324.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $5,311,540.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,169,430. The trade was a 39.40% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total value of $3,945,716.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,516 shares of company stock valued at $13,036,090. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1%

MCD opened at $299.78 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $307.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $304.52. The stock has a market cap of $213.49 billion, a PE ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 63.48%.

Trending Headlines about McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: Product refreshes may help traffic — McDonald’s rolled out January menu changes and a promoted “secret menu” for 2026 that could boost short‑term visits and mix. McDonald’s launches secret menu for 2026
• Positive Sentiment: Franchise/unit expansion remains a tailwind — Zacks highlights McDonald’s disciplined unit expansion as a key lever to support systemwide sales amid consumer pressure. Expansion can sustain revenue even if traffic softens. Is McDonald’s Expansion Pipeline Enough to Offset Consumer Pressure?
• Neutral Sentiment: Localized real‑estate change — an individual McDonald’s was demolished to make way for a $100M downtown development; this appears to be a site‑level/real‑estate event rather than a corporate operating issue. McDonald’s demolished to make way for $100 million development downtown
• Neutral Sentiment: Price action context — coverage notes MCD fell while the market was generally up, underscoring idiosyncratic drivers (news flow, litigation, traffic concerns) rather than broad market weakness. McDonald’s (MCD) Stock Falls Amid Market Uptick: What Investors Need to Know
• Negative Sentiment: Material litigation risk — a class‑action lawsuit alleges the McRib contains no actual rib meat; widespread media coverage raises reputational risk, potential damages and settlement costs if the suit proceeds. This is the primary headline pressuring the stock today. Class action lawsuit filed against McDonald’s over McRib
• Negative Sentiment: Company response and ongoing headlines — McDonald’s has issued statements disputing the claims, but multiple outlets are covering eligibility for payouts and consumer deception allegations; continued legal headlines could sustain volatility until clarity emerges. McDonald’s releases statement after lawsuit claims it ‘deceived’ customers about McRib sandwich

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.