Night Squared LP Acquires Shares of 9,969 McDonald's Corporation $MCD

Key Points

• Night Squared LP acquired a new stake of 9,969 shares in McDonald's during Q3, valued at about $3.03 million, and institutional investors collectively own roughly 70.29% of the company.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently: CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares (~$8.76M) and EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares, with insiders offloading 74,143 shares (~$24.52M) in the last 90 days and holding just 0.25% of outstanding stock.
• McDonald's beat quarter estimates on EPS and revenue, declared a quarterly dividend of $1.86 (annualized $7.44, 2.3% yield), and analysts raised price targets while the company plans a U.S. rollout of $3 value items to drive traffic.

Night Squared LP acquired a new stake in McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 9,969 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $3,029,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 9,286 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,692,000 after purchasing an additional 1,649 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,942 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald's by 11.4% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,017 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $589,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 6.0% in the 2nd quarter. United Bank now owns 8,102 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,367,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Schnieders Capital Management LLC. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald's by 2.5% in the second quarter. Schnieders Capital Management LLC. now owns 12,938 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,780,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald's news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 26,276 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.54, for a total transaction of $8,764,097.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,900 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,638,066. This represents a 53.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were 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 approximately $763,567.39. The trade was a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 74,143 shares of company stock worth $24,517,724 in the last 90 days. 0.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key McDonald's News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Tigress Financial raised its price target to $385 and reiterated a Buy, citing McDonald’s multi‑year growth strategy and brand strength — a clear analyst endorsement that supports upside to the stock. Tigress Financial Upgrades McDonald’s Corporation (MCD) Price Target, Highlights Multi-Year Growth Strategy
• Positive Sentiment: Value menu push: McDonald’s is rolling out $3 value items and $4 breakfast deals in the U.S. starting in April to win back price‑sensitive customers — a traffic‑driving move that could boost visit frequency if franchisees and consumers adopt it. McDonald's to launch new $3 value items in US starting April, WSJ reports
• Positive Sentiment: Digital/loyalty tailwinds: Management cites a large loyalty base and digital tools as drivers for higher visit frequency and better targeted promotions — structural levers for revenue per user and margin expansion over time. Can MCD's Digital Ecosystem Turn Loyalty Into Higher Visit Frequency?
• Neutral Sentiment: Marketing and product noise: Viral moments (CEO burger video → memes) and new product reviews (e.g., Big Arch) keep brand relevance and social buzz high but are unlikely to move fundamentals immediately. How McDonald's CEO's viral burger video turned memes into money
• Neutral Sentiment: Menu coverage / consumer perception: Media attention on affordability and menu mix helps narrative but the actual impact depends on execution and unit economics. McDonald's Plans New $3 Menu, in Latest Bid to Win Customers With Better Deals
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Executive Joseph Erlinger disclosed a sale of 2,626 shares (~$862k). While routine insider sales aren’t always predictive, they can be interpreted as a mild negative signal by some investors. Insider sale filing
• Negative Sentiment: Short‑term dampener: Analysts and commentary note the stock is down since earnings (some profit‑taking and valuation debates persist), which can cap near‑term upside until fresh evidence of traffic/margin improvement appears. Why Is McDonald's (MCD) Down 2.5% Since Last Earnings Report?

McDonald's Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of MCD stock opened at $326.41 on Friday. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The business's 50 day moving average is $320.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.52. The company has a market capitalization of $231.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.51.

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

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.86 dividend. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 62.26%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their price target on McDonald's from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on McDonald's from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald's presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $339.69.

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.

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