McDonald's Corporation $MCD Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Key Points

• Arizona State Retirement System trimmed its McDonald's stake by 4.1%, selling 8,567 shares in Q4 and retaining 200,268 shares worth about $61.21 million.
• Several large institutions aggressively added to positions (e.g., Viking Global +171.7%, Marshall Wace +927.5%, Alyeska +766.5%), leaving 70.29% of McDonald's stock held by institutional investors.
• Analysts are broadly positive (consensus "Moderate Buy" with a $340.93 price target) even as insiders sold roughly 71,990 shares (≈$23.8M) over the past three months.

Arizona State Retirement System cut its position in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 200,268 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 8,567 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in McDonald's were worth $61,208,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Viking Global Investors LP grew its position in McDonald's by 171.7% during the 2nd quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 3,125,432 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $913,157,000 after purchasing an additional 1,974,998 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in McDonald's by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,396,837 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,336,155,000 after purchasing an additional 1,179,244 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in McDonald's by 111.3% during the 3rd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,071,296 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $629,446,000 after purchasing an additional 1,090,849 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in McDonald's by 927.5% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 827,547 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $251,483,000 after purchasing an additional 927,547 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. grew its position in McDonald's by 766.5% during the 3rd quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 885,629 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $269,134,000 after purchasing an additional 783,416 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. BTIG Research increased their price target on McDonald's from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on McDonald's from $371.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Rothschild & Co Redburn upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $260.00 to $306.00 in a research report on Thursday. Guggenheim cut their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $340.93.

Insider Activity

In other McDonald's news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $325.25, for a total transaction of $854,106.50. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,755,699.50. The trade was a 32.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total transaction of $2,066,731.29. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This trade represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McDonald's News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: New nationwide value menu and $3 menu rollout should support traffic and AUVs by making pricing more competitive and simplifying promotional offers. McDonald’s new value menu debuts today
• Positive Sentiment: Menu revamp across ~17 items and added “protein” badges responds to shifting consumer demand (incl. GLP‑1 trends) — this product alignment can protect menu relevance and sales per guest. McDonald’s revamps menu across 17 items as GLP-1 use surges
• Positive Sentiment: New promotional tie-ins (Stranger Things Happy Meal) and refreshed beverage/soda items are near-term demand drivers and brand-relevance plays. McDonald’s introducing new ‘Stranger Things’ Happy Meal
• Positive Sentiment: Company added more U.S. restaurants in 2025 than any year since 2002 — a renewal of unit-growth tailwinds after a low-growth period. McDonald's added a lot of new U.S. restaurants in 2025
• Neutral Sentiment: Some models still target upside (24/7 Wall St. $341 PT) but note execution “cracks” — mixed signals for valuation drivers. McDonald’s Price Target Hits $341—But Cracks Are Starting to Show
• Neutral Sentiment: RBC expects Q1 roughly in line with Street — reduces the chance of a major earnings surprise in the near term. McDonald's Seen Posting Largely In-Line First-Quarter Results, RBC Says
• Neutral Sentiment: Options commentary suggests retail traders see limited downside and are selling premium via spreads — market participants positioning for muted volatility. Selling A Spread On McDonald's Stock Could Deliver A Big Mac-Sized Return
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale: President of McDonald’s USA, Joseph M. Erlinger, sold 333 shares (~$100.8k) — small in scale but visible to investors and sometimes viewed as a mild negative signal. Insider Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: KeyCorp lowered expectations for MCD’s stock price — an analyst downgrade or lower target can weigh on sentiment. KeyCorp Lowers Expectations
• Negative Sentiment: Brand/IP risk: USPTO has questioned McDonald’s attempt to reclaim “Extra Value Meal” as a trademark — potential loss of branding control on a core promotional term. McDonald's fights to win back ‘Extra Value Meal' moniker
• Negative Sentiment: Regulatory / reputational watch: equality watchdog says work with McDonald’s on sexual‑harassment prevention is “ongoing,” signalling potential reputational or compliance risk. Equality watchdog update

McDonald's Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of McDonald's stock opened at $302.82 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $317.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.25 billion, a PE ratio of 25.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's Corporation has a twelve month low of $283.47 and a twelve month high of $341.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The company had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.83 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald's Corporation will post 13.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were paid a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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