Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Price Target Lowered to $78.00 at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $78.00 in a research report released on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently issued reports on QSR. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Argus upgraded Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.08.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:QSR opened at $67.93 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $64.12 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.28. The company has a market capitalization of $22.08 billion, a PE ratio of 21.36, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95. Restaurant Brands International has a 52 week low of $59.67 and a 52 week high of $81.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.10 by ($0.29). Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 28.53% and a net margin of 12.15%. Analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This is an increase from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Restaurant Brands International news, insider Jeffrey Housman sold 14,593 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.38, for a total transaction of $939,497.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 142,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,205,438.68. This trade represents a 9.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Duncan Fulton sold 27,500 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.66, for a total transaction of $1,778,150.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,590.52. This trade represents a 44.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 287,726 shares of company stock worth $18,269,723. Company insiders own 1.36% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Restaurant Brands International

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,418,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,829,974,000 after buying an additional 841,167 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,165,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $858,101,000 after purchasing an additional 421,873 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 26.6% during the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 12,819,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $834,478,000 after purchasing an additional 2,695,071 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter worth approximately $264,813,000. Finally, Meritage Group LP boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 5,795.9% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,301,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,204,000 after purchasing an additional 3,245,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Restaurant Brands International Company Profile

Restaurant Brands International Inc operates as a quick-service restaurant company in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Tim Hortons (TH), Burger King (BK), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen (PLK), and Firehouse Subs (FHS). The company owns and franchises TH chain of donut/coffee/tea restaurants that offer blend coffee, tea, and espresso-based hot and cold specialty drinks; and fresh baked goods, including donuts, Timbits, bagels, muffins, cookies and pastries, grilled paninis, classic sandwiches, wraps, soups, and other food products.