Clear Trail Advisors LLC Invests $3.97 Million in McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake of 13,001 shares in McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) during the fourth quarter, valued at approximately $3.97 million.
• Several analysts have recently raised price targets (e.g., Tigress to $385, UBS to $365) and the stock has 17 Buy / 13 Hold / 2 Sell ratings, but MarketBeat's consensus rating remains "Hold" with a target price of $339.69.
• McDonald's beat quarterly estimates with $3.12 EPS on $7.01 billion revenue, pays a quarterly dividend of $1.86 (annualized $7.44, yield 2.4%), and has seen significant insider selling in recent months.

Clear Trail Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 13,001 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,974,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in McDonald's by 162.5% during the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in McDonald's by 95.7% during the fourth quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 92 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Painted Porch Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald's by 735.7% in the third quarter. Painted Porch Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Saranac Partners Ltd purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of a number of research reports. Tigress Financial upped their price target on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on McDonald's from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on McDonald's from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research upped their target price on McDonald's from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded McDonald's from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Seventeen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $339.69.

More McDonald's News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Rolling out value items ($3 or less) and $4 breakfast deals in the U.S., plus a Mario Happy Meal tie‑in, is designed to boost traffic and repeat visits amid consumer cost sensitivity — a near‑term demand catalyst. McDonald's Value Push And Mario Tie In Versus Recent Share Weakness
• Positive Sentiment: Reviving a 36‑year‑old Happy Meal toy collaboration signals brand engagement and promotional lift for kids’ traffic, complementing the Mario campaign. McDonald's revives 36-year-old fan-favorite Happy Meal toy collab
• Positive Sentiment: The premium "Big Arch" burger is producing a modest traffic bump and is positioned to protect margins while value items drive visits — a two‑pronged pricing/mix strategy that can support revenue and profit per transaction. McDonald’s Big Arch provides a modest traffic bump
• Positive Sentiment: Testing humanoid robots in a Shanghai location signals a push on automation that could lower labor costs and improve throughput in the medium term if scaled successfully. McDonald’s (MCD) Tests Humanoid Robots at Shanghai Restaurant Location
• Neutral Sentiment: Large state‑by‑state price differences highlight local pricing flexibility and franchised variability — this shows pricing power in some markets but inconsistent consumer pricing experience elsewhere. McDonald’s Big Arch—Drastic Price Differences Across States
• Neutral Sentiment: Practical consumer stories (cash‑only rules, niche menu items, food features) drive brand conversation but have limited direct impact on fundamentals. The McDonald's cash-only rule you need to know about
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/asset‑allocation pieces comparing beaten‑down blue chips (Home Depot vs. McDonald’s) may influence flows but reflect relative valuation/portfolio choice rather than company‑specific news. Home Depot vs McDonald's: Which Beaten-Down Blue Chip Is the Better Buy Right Now?
• Negative Sentiment: Coverage noting "menu missteps" argues that inconsistent or poorly received menu changes could force a strategy reset — a risk to sales mix and margins if McDonald’s needs to overhaul offerings or promotions. McDonald's latest menu missteps could force a new menu strategy

McDonald's Price Performance

McDonald's stock opened at $308.26 on Tuesday. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The company has a market capitalization of $218.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $321.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.57.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $7.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.81 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.85% and a negative return on equity of 343.90%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $331.35, for a total value of $8,706,883.95. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,587,915. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider owned 5,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,755,699.50. This trade represents a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 71,657 shares of company stock worth $23,722,204. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.