Hudson Bay Capital Management LP Has $22.10 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Hudson Bay Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 248.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,724 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,834 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $22,100,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WD Rutherford LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Redhawk Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,423 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $736,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Symmetry Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the third quarter. Symmetry Partners LLC now owns 1,771 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $538,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.3% in the third quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,352,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Finally, CFO4Life Group LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 2.1% in the third quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $339.69.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 6,200 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,052,200. This trade represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total value of $854,106.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,755,699.50. This trade represents a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,722,204 in the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McDonald’s Trading Down 3.2%

MCD opened at $315.70 on Thursday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1-year low of $283.47 and a 1-year high of $341.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.42, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $321.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.83 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.26%.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s rolled out a new $3 value menu aimed at lower-income consumers, which could support traffic and same-store sales even if it pressures unit economics. McDonald’s newest $3 value menu
• Positive Sentiment: Brand engagement boost: McDonald’s trading-card launch has generated collectible demand and social buzz, a low-cost marketing lift that can increase store visits. McDonald’s launches trading cards
• Neutral Sentiment: Broader media discussion on tech and reputation risk (social media + AI) highlights that brand actions can trigger faster public reaction—an operational risk for all consumer-facing companies, including MCD. Jack Schlossberg warning for CEOs
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/peer context: coverage noting Restaurant Brands (QSR) has upside illustrates competitive dynamics in the QSR space; investors may reprice MCD versus peers depending on relative growth/valuation outlooks. Restaurant Brands upside view
• Neutral Sentiment: Market coverage noted MCD’s stock swung more than the broader market today and attempted to explain drivers; these pieces summarize trading reaction but don’t add new fundamental data. Here’s why MCD fell
• Negative Sentiment: Legal risk: a federal judge allowed two former Black McDonald’s vice presidents to proceed with harassment and retaliation claims, raising potential reputational, litigation and remediation costs. This likely pressured the stock today. McDonald’s must face harassment, retaliation claims
• Negative Sentiment: Franchise pricing volatility: coverage notes McDonald’s can’t force franchisees’ local pricing (airports, rest stops) and some owners may opt out of promotions—this creates uneven price/mix outcomes and could weigh on same-store sales or margins. McDonald’s faces a burger pricing challenge

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.