Legacy Private Trust Co. Buys 1,885 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Legacy Private Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 19.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,637 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 1,885 shares during the period. Legacy Private Trust Co.’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $3,557,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 7.2% in the 4th quarter. Gryphon Financial Partners LLC now owns 9,005 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,752,000 after acquiring an additional 606 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 7,928 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. GSG Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 37.8% in the fourth quarter. GSG Advisors LLC now owns 940 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $287,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the period. American National Bank of Texas increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank of Texas now owns 1,191 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $364,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 1,449 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Key Headlines Impacting McDonald’s

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

• Positive Sentiment: McDonald’s rolled out deeper value pricing and is reportedly launching $3 menu items aimed at retaining lower-income customers — actions that can boost traffic and same-store sales if widely adopted. McDonald’s Value Menu Just Got Even Cheaper McDonald’s reportedly launching $3 menu items
• Positive Sentiment: Marketing tie-ins returning (Super Mario Galaxy Happy Meal toys) provide a low-cost way to drive family traffic and frequency, supporting March/holiday comps. Super Mario Galaxy Movie Toys Arrive In McDonald’s Next Week Mario Returns To McDonald’s Happy Meals
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer-facing notes on McDonald’s soft-serve/ice-cream mechanics and safety: useful for operations/brand perception but unlikely to move fundamentals unless problems escalate. What You Should Know Before Eating McDonald’s Ice Cream Again
• Neutral Sentiment: Price of the new Big Arch burger varies significantly by location — shows pricing power is uneven and customers see mixed value; informational for revenue mix but not an immediate catalyst. Price of McDonald’s new Big Arch burger varies across the US
• Negative Sentiment: A federal judge allowed two former Black vice presidents’ harassment and retaliation claims to proceed — a potential reputational and legal overhang that could bring costs or reforms. McDonald’s must face Black ex-executives’ harassment, retaliation claims
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts and press highlight a pricing challenge: franchisees set local prices, producing uneven inflation pass-through and promotional participation — a structural constraint on company-wide pricing and margin execution. McDonald’s faces a burger pricing challenge
• Negative Sentiment: Market coverage notes MCD shares have dipped more than the broader market recently, reflecting investor concern about near-term comps, pricing variability and legal headlines. McDonald’s (MCD) Dips More Than Broader Market

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 4,692 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,200. The trade was a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,657 shares of company stock valued at $23,722,204 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MCD. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $354.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $339.69.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $309.42 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $219.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $321.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $311.66. McDonald’s Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $283.47 and a fifty-two week high of $341.75.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

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.