Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Grows Holdings in McDonald’s Corporation $MCD

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,366 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in McDonald’s were worth $36,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. WD Rutherford LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. WD Rutherford LLC now owns 3,261 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $991,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jackson Hole Capital Partners LLC now owns 11,032 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,352,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. CFO4Life Group LLC now owns 1,669 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $507,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American National Bank of Texas boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank of Texas now owns 1,191 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $364,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 333 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total value of $100,805.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,442,042.24. This trade represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 6,201 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.29, for a total value of $2,066,731.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $763,567.39. This represents a 73.02% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 71,990 shares of company stock valued at $23,824,113 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of MCD opened at $286.83 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $314.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $311.86. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $203.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.43.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.83 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Corporation will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were given a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.6%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.26%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on MCD. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $372.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Tigress Financial increased their target price on McDonald’s from $360.00 to $385.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 6th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $323.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Weiss Ratings cut McDonald’s from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $340.93.

McDonald’s 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.