J2 Capital Management Inc Acquires Shares of 1,860 McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD)

J2 Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,860 shares of the fast-food giant's stock, valued at approximately $539,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald's during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald's during the third quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth about $58,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in McDonald's in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $72,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 10,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,036,366.30. This represents a 9.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,704 shares of company stock worth $2,829,428 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of McDonald's from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup raised McDonald's from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $311.00 to $334.00 in a research report on Friday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $321.39.

McDonald's Stock Performance

McDonald's stock traded up $1.16 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $280.90. The stock had a trading volume of 3,304,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,456,984. The stock has a market capitalization of $201.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $292.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $287.24. McDonald's Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.