Carnegie Investment Counsel Sells 6,433 Shares of McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its stake in McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 11.8% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,932 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 6,433 shares during the quarter. Carnegie Investment Counsel’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $14,566,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.3% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,840,787,000 after purchasing an additional 921,936 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $10,175,800,000 after purchasing an additional 272,139 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 29,382.3% in the 2nd quarter. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,737,548 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,676,339,000 after buying an additional 5,718,087 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

More McDonald’s News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks highlights McDonald’s restaurant margin dollars topping $4B in Q3 2025, arguing the company’s scale and value strategy can still expand margins despite inflation and a pressured consumer — a direct bullish signal for profit leverage. Does McDonald’s $4B Margin Milestone Signal Model Durability?
• Positive Sentiment: Reporting says McDonald’s plans over 8,000 new locations and major technology upgrades — if executed, that accelerates franchised development fees, systemwide sales growth and long-term comp growth. McDonald’s 2026 expansion plans: Over 8,000 new locations and major technology upgrades coming
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage of planned drive-thru and in-restaurant changes for 2026 suggests operational improvements (speed, order accuracy, upsell) that can lift throughput and margins at scale. 4 changes coming to McDonald’s drive-thrus in 2026
• Neutral Sentiment: McDonald’s Disney Happy Meal promotion and holiday menu/availability stories are routine marketing/seasonal items that support short-term traffic but are unlikely to move the stock materially on their own. How long will Disney Happy Meal be available at McDonald’s?
• Neutral Sentiment: Multiple outlets covered McDonald’s being open on Christmas and customer-facing changes for 2026 — background consumer-facing news that maintains brand visibility but has limited near-term EPS impact. 10 changes coming to McDonald’s in 2026 that customers need to know
• Neutral Sentiment: A playful Dogecoin tweet calling out businesses that don’t accept DOGE is social-media noise rather than a catalyst for material payment adoption or revenue change. Dogecoin Account Wants You To Tag ‘Naughty’ Businesses That Won’t Take The Good Boy
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that a Minneapolis location locked doors to keep out individuals deemed a safety risk raise operational and reputational concerns in specific markets; localized safety issues can pressure sales and require extra store-level costs. McDonald’s locks doors to keep out individuals who present a risk in crime-ridden Minneapolis area
• Negative Sentiment: Lingering macro/near-term pressure: McDonald’s last quarterly report (Nov 5) showed a slight EPS and revenue miss, which remains a selling point for investors awaiting clearer margin/growth guidance.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $335.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $320.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $322.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, October 17th. Eleven research 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.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $324.57.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.61 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 1 year low of $276.53 and a 1 year high of $326.32. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $308.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $304.06. The company has a market cap of $221.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.52.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 32.04% and a negative return on equity of 280.89%. The company had revenue of $7.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.4%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.