First Horizon Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

First Horizon Advisors Inc. cut its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 8.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,938 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 380 shares during the quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $257,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 68.6% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 3,181,459 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $229,545,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,185 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the 3rd quarter valued at about $89,790,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 282.6% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,465,709 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $105,707,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082,622 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 848.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 370,973 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,756,000 after buying an additional 331,880 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 16.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,207,251 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $159,251,000 after purchasing an additional 307,791 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 18,477 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 transaction of $1,152,040.95. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 55,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,476,698.35. This trade represents a 24.89 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total transaction of $5,837,144.65. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders have sold a total of 241,580 shares of company stock worth $15,761,261 in the last three months. 1.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

QSR opened at $64.34 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $63.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.68. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.67 and a fifty-two week high of $83.29. The firm has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.93.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Investors of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.85%. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 21st. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio is 77.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

QSR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Citigroup increased their price objective 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 shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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, Barclays reduced their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.96.

Restaurant Brands International Company 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.