Vanguard Group Inc. Increases Holdings in Restaurant Brands International Inc. $QSR

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 2.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 15,983,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 344,066 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc.’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $1,090,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in QSR. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 1st quarter valued at $237,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 2nd quarter valued at $265,000. State Street Corp raised 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 valued at $198,711,000 after buying an additional 2,966,048 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised 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 valued at $3,469,000 after buying an additional 34,210 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina purchased a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 2nd quarter valued at $10,019,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $84.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $68.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.83.

Restaurant Brands International Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:QSR opened at $80.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.51. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a one year low of $61.33 and a one year high of $81.67. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $74.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.97.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 8.23%.Restaurant Brands International’s revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.81 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 19th. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 110.17%.

Insider Transactions at Restaurant Brands International

In related news, insider Jeffrey Housman sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,469,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 162,077 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,909,417.96. This represents a 10.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 200,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.05, for a total transaction of $15,010,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 960,769 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,105,713.45. This represents a 17.23% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 441,490 shares of company stock worth $32,375,140 over the last three months. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Restaurant Brands International

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.