Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 586 Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 28,139 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 586 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $1,834,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Summerhill Capital Management lnc. purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the 4th quarter worth approximately $841,000. Baskin Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Baskin Financial Services Inc. now owns 332,594 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,664,000 after acquiring an additional 9,208 shares in the last quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 914,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $59,574,000 after purchasing an additional 6,000 shares during the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 10.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,379,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $101,085,000 after purchasing an additional 126,600 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

NYSE QSR opened at $64.52 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a twelve month low of $59.67 and a twelve month high of $79.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $64.88 and a 200 day moving average of $67.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95.

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

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.84%. Restaurant Brands International’s payout ratio is currently 77.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 12,420 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $797,364.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 703,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,161,169. This trade represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 3,511 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction on Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total value of $225,406.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,937 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,114,555.40. This represents a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 300,226 shares of company stock valued at $19,121,223 in the last 90 days. 1.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on QSR. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $78.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.08.

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.