River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 595,429 Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. $QSR

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 863,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 595,429 shares during the quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC owned about 0.25% of Restaurant Brands International worth $58,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Restaurant Brands International by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,525,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,969,819,000 after acquiring an additional 3,095,167 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 11.7% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 16,645,003 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,135,844,000 after purchasing an additional 1,741,795 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,983,585 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,090,684,000 after purchasing an additional 344,066 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,429,121 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $575,119,000 after purchasing an additional 1,641,870 shares during the period. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 103.8% in the third quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 8,252,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $529,337,000 after purchasing an additional 4,203,300 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Scotia increased their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays raised their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Restaurant Brands International from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, CL King set a $81.00 price objective on Restaurant Brands International in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Seventeen 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Restaurant Brands International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.54.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of QSR opened at $73.38 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $72.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 0.99. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.33 and a 52 week high of $81.96.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The restaurant operator reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.03. Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 32.80% and a net margin of 9.96%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.24 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.75 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.65 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 91.55%.

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.