FIL Ltd Decreases Stock Holdings in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

FIL Ltd reduced its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 38.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,747,306 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,100,835 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $113,886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 17.8% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,754 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $126,000 after acquiring an additional 265 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $361,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 9,040 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $658,000 after buying an additional 537 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 112.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 17,965 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,298,000 after buying an additional 9,496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:QSR opened at $59.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a current ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.92. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.26 and a fifty-two week high of $77.24.

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

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.16%. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total transaction of $851,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 235,228 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,023,731.36. The trade was a 5.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total value of $5,837,144.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 848,578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $52,908,838.30. This represents a 9.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 278,716 shares of company stock worth $17,740,281. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $78.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Argus raised Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $76.63.

Restaurant Brands International 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.