First Manhattan CO. LLC. Sells 9,603 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. lessened its stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 654,476 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 9,603 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned about 0.09% of McDonald's worth $190,090,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MCD. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 110.0% during the fourth quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of MCD traded up $0.26 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $313.75. 1,917,256 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,556,520. McDonald's Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $224.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.55, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $310.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $300.11.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. Northcoast Research lowered shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up previously from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Erste Group Bank raised shares of McDonald's from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total value of $299,071.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.25% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Company 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.