Gates Foundation Trust Takes Position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

Gates Foundation Trust acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 334,900 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $97,084,000. McDonald's makes up about 0.2% of Gates Foundation Trust's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 11.2% in 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,175,326,000 after buying an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently 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 on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This trade represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial set a $350.00 target price on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of McDonald's in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.91.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MCD traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $313.75. The company had a trading volume of 1,917,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,556,520. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $310.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.11. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32. The stock has a market cap of $224.35 billion, a PE ratio of 27.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57.

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

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.