Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Has $131.86 Million Stock Holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lowered its holdings in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) by 29.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 454,852 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after selling 191,591 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $131,857,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 24.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.4 %

McDonald’s stock opened at $313.61 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $309.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.12. The stock has a market cap of $224.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald’s Co. has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.70 EPS. McDonald’s’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BTIG Research reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Northcoast Research downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $292.00 to $314.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $325.91.

McDonald’s Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.