Vornado Realty Trust, an investor in Sears Holdings and Toys “R” Us, acquired a 1.2% stake in McDonald’s valued at about $500 million, raising the prospect the trust will push for the sale of the burger chain’s real estate.

Vornado bought 858,000 McDonald’s shares and holds options on another 14.6 million, according to a regulatory filing yesterday.

The chief executive of Vornado, Steven Roth, is buying stakes in retailers including Toys “R” Us largely to capitalize on the value of their real estate. McDonald’s is coming under pressure to boost shareholder value as the stock has fallen 1.4% this year. Chief Executive Jim Skinner said on Monday the company has no intention of selling real estate.

“There is no doubt that there is huge imbedded value in McDonald’s real estate,” said Peter Goldman, who helps oversee $900 million at Chicago Asset Management, including McDonald’s shares. “Do you somehow cripple or inhibit McDonald’s ability to operate over the long term by taking that arrow out of the quiver?”

Vornado acquired its interest in the 14.6 million shares through the purchase of a call option and the simultaneous sale of a put option at the same strike price, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing by New York-based Vornado, the third largest real-estate investment trust. The call and put options have a strike price of $32.66.

McDonald’s will not spin off its company-owned stores or establish a real-estate investment trust, Mr. Skinner said in a letter to franchisees on Monday.

McDonald’s owns about 37% of the land and 59% of the buildings at both its company-owned and franchised locations around the world, wrote a CIBC World Markets analyst, John Glass, who is based in Boston and rates the shares “sector outperform.”