Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Purchases 3,851,704 Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO - Free Report) by 40.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,463,466 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 3,851,704 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned 6.39% of Arcos Dorados worth $98,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ARCO. Spire Wealth Management increased its position in Arcos Dorados by 27.2% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 7,210 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $52,000 after acquiring an additional 1,540 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in Arcos Dorados during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Arcos Dorados in the 4th quarter valued at about $90,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Arcos Dorados by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 12,272 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $89,000 after buying an additional 1,830 shares during the period. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Arcos Dorados in the fourth quarter worth approximately $90,000. Institutional investors own 55.91% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com lowered shares of Arcos Dorados from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th.

Arcos Dorados Trading Up 1.9 %

ARCO traded up $0.14 during trading on Friday, reaching $7.69. 761,629 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,397,076. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The stock's 50-day moving average is $7.71 and its 200 day moving average is $7.95. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. has a 12 month low of $6.66 and a 12 month high of $11.49.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.15 billion. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 29.74% and a net margin of 3.25%. Equities analysts anticipate that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.63 earnings per share for the current year.

Arcos Dorados Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 26th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 22nd will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 22nd. Arcos Dorados's payout ratio is 33.33%.

About Arcos Dorados

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc operates as a franchisee of McDonald's restaurants. It has the exclusive right to own, operate, and grant franchises of McDonald's restaurants in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Aruba, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Peru, Puerto Rico, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, the U.S.