AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Has $16.73 Million Position in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 1,509.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,050 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,629 shares during the quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $16,729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 71,331,031 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,840,787,000 after buying an additional 921,936 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,828,352 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $10,175,800,000 after acquiring an additional 272,139 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% during the second 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 acquiring an additional 276,065 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter worth approximately $2,780,712,000. Finally, Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 5,718,087 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 17,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $5,311,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 26,353 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,169,430. This trade represents a 39.40% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 2,626 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $306.58, for a total transaction of $805,079.08. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 5,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,654,918.84. This represents a 32.73% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,142 shares of company stock valued at $13,841,169. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $315.17 on Friday. McDonald’s Corporation has a 52 week low of $283.47 and a 52 week high of $326.32. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $309.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $306.32. The firm has a market cap of $224.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The business had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 280.89% and a net margin of 32.04%.McDonald’s’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.23 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on MCD shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $381.00 to $375.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 21st. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $372.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $350.00 to $356.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $325.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised McDonald’s to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $328.88.

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.