SYDNEY, June 30, 2026, 03:01 AEST
- Macquarie finished Monday at A$250.01, rising 0.26% for the day, and now stands 1.7% under its 52-week peak.
- The A$734 million share purchase for the employee plan has finished. Just A$53.3 million got bought on market.
- The stock is now close to the average analyst target of A$250.14, which doesn’t leave much room for more upside from price moves.
Macquarie Group Ltd ASX:MQG heads into Tuesday’s pre-open close to a record. But the A$734 million employee share plan isn’t the real figure for investors. Only A$53.3 million was actually bought on the market. The rest happened off market, meaning the exchange-traded purchase was much smaller than the full staff-share number.
ASX cash trading was not open at the dateline since it was still ahead of the standard session. Regular hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sydney time on business days. June 30 isn’t on ASX’s 2026 list of named holidays.
Macquarie ended Monday at A$250.01, up 65 cents. Google Finance showed trading volume at 527,760 shares, around 37% below the average of 833,590. The S&P/ASX 200 (INDEXASX:XJO) gained 0.68% to 8,823.40, with Macquarie trailing the index by 42 basis points for the session.
| Monday’s final | Macquarie | S&P/ASX 200 |
|---|---|---|
| Last trade | A$250.01 | 8,823.40 |
| Move on day | +0.26% | +0.68% |
| Macquarie from 52-week peak | -1.7% | n/a |
| MQG traded vs average | -37% | n/a |
This is notable since Macquarie is trading near where most analysts have set their price goals. MarketScreener data shows the average target from 13 analysts is A$250.14, only 0.05% above where shares finished on Monday. Targets range from a high of A$271 to a low of A$205.
No new Macquarie ASX filings turned up for June 30 by the deadline. The shares are moving on the last close, completed equity plan buys, and upcoming capital return dates—not fresh news from the company.
Macquarie said its employee-plan trustee purchased around A$734 million in ordinary shares for 2026 profit share and promotion awards on June 19. The trustee bought A$680.7 million worth off market, and A$53.3 million on market, with a weighted average price of A$238.80.
| Flow item | Disclosed amount | Average price | Implied shares | Share base / tape check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Employee plan off market | A$680.7 mln | A$238.80 | 2.85 mln | 0.75% of shares out |
| Employee plan on market | A$53.3 mln | A$238.80 | 0.22 mln | 42% of Monday trading |
| Employee plan total | A$734.0 mln | A$238.80 | 3.07 mln | 0.81% of shares out |
| Buyback finished | A$1.013 bln | A$189.80 | 5.34 mln | 1.40% of shares out |
The staff plan’s on-market leg comes to about 223,000 shares, which is less than half the trading volume on Monday. The entire employee-plan buy counts for ownership and comp but doesn’t show up as a A$734 million active buy order.
Macquarie wrapped up its A$2 billion share buyback after purchasing A$1.013 billion of stock at an average price of A$189.80, Reuters said when the company posted its full-year numbers in May. Including the shares bought for the employee plan, the two reported programmes totaled about 8.41 million shares, or 2.2% of Google Finance’s 381.14 million shares outstanding.
The gap has widened. Monday’s close finished 4.7% over the average employee-plan price and was 31.7% higher than the average level paid in the buyback. Good for current holders, but new buyers are stepping in above prices where the company and its employee-plan trustee last picked up shares.
Macquarie’s full-year net profit came in at A$4.85 billion, up 30% and beating the Visible Alpha consensus of A$4.39 billion. Earnings got a lift from commodities, with profit at the Commodities and Global Markets unit up almost 50% to A$4.22 billion, according to Reuters. Commodities and Global Markets boss Simon Wright said longer volatility can dampen client appetite. CEO Shemara Wikramanayake told Reuters that private credit returns are at 4% to 4.5%. “We think they (private credit) is fantastic in terms of its return for risk,” she said. Reuters
Macquarie has July 2 down for its final dividend payout and July 23 for the 2026 annual general meeting. The AGM notice links the CEO’s proposed restricted share units to the A$238.80 employee-plan acquisition price.
