ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 13,895 Shares of McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 874,099 shares of the fast-food giant's stock after selling 13,895 shares during the period. McDonald's makes up approximately 0.6% of ProShare Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest position. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.12% of McDonald's worth $253,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at about $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald's during the fourth quarter valued at about $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 794,536 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their price target on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and set a $345.00 target price (up from $340.00) on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Eleven 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $325.91.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE MCD traded down $1.50 on Tuesday, reaching $319.73. 673,043 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,544,400. The business's fifty day moving average price is $310.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $300.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $228.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. McDonald's Co. has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting 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 business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.70 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at McDonald's

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $475,176. This represents a 41.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,636 shares of company stock worth $5,420,722 in the last three months. 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.