Restaurant Brands International Inc. $QSR Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 8.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,717 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,113 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $10,161,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 1st quarter worth approximately $237,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $265,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 9,477.4% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,997,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $198,711,000 after buying an additional 2,966,048 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 188.7% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 52,335 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,469,000 after purchasing an additional 34,210 shares during the period. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina acquired a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 2nd quarter worth $10,019,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In related news, insider Axel Schwan sold 34,939 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.51, for a total value of $2,358,731.89. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 194,984 shares in the company, valued at $13,163,369.84. This trade represents a 15.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.51, for a total transaction of $2,980,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 35,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,664,924.66. This trade represents a 52.79% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 441,490 shares of company stock worth $32,375,140 in the last three months. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on QSR. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $82.00 price objective on Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.04.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Up 2.8%

QSR stock opened at $81.24 on Friday. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $81.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.20 billion, a PE ratio of 34.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 0.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.71 and a 200-day moving average of $70.55.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 8.23% and a return on equity of 32.51%. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.81 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is presently 110.17%.

Restaurant Brands International Profile

Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE: QSR) is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The company’s principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands International’s business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs.

RBI’s restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood.