Lazard Asset Management LLC Buys 1,703,169 Shares of Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. $ARCO

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ARCO) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,174,841 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,703,169 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 11.00% of Arcos Dorados worth $191,192,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimize Financial Inc grew its stake in Arcos Dorados by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 86,291 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Arcos Dorados by 10.6% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 13,481 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 1,290 shares in the last quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 11.3% in the 4th quarter. Mraz Amerine & Associates Inc. now owns 19,665 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in Arcos Dorados by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 49,409 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 2,023 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its position in shares of Arcos Dorados by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 918,063 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,197,000 after purchasing an additional 2,312 shares in the last quarter. 55.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ARCO shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Arcos Dorados from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $10.50 in a report on Friday, July 17th. Weiss Ratings cut Arcos Dorados from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Zacks Research upgraded Arcos Dorados from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Santander upgraded Arcos Dorados to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Arcos Dorados in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Arcos Dorados presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $10.50.

Arcos Dorados Stock Performance

NYSE ARCO opened at $8.22 on Monday. Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. has a 52-week low of $6.51 and a 52-week high of $9.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a current ratio of 0.80. The company has a market capitalization of $1.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.41 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.42 and a 200-day moving average of $8.37.

Arcos Dorados (NYSE:ARCO) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The restaurant operator reported $0.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.06. Arcos Dorados had a return on equity of 10.47% and a net margin of 4.86%.The business had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc. will post 0.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Arcos Dorados Profile

Arcos Dorados Holdings Inc is the largest independent McDonald’s franchisee in the world, operating under an exclusive license agreement with McDonald’s Corporation. The company develops, owns and operates quick-service restaurants, offering the full McDonald’s menu, including hamburgers, chicken sandwiches, salads, sides, desserts and McCafé beverages. In addition to restaurant operations, Arcos Dorados manages supply chain logistics, property development, training and support services for its franchise network.

Headquartered in Montevideo, Uruguay, Arcos Dorados serves 20 markets across Latin America and the Caribbean, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.