Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Sells 2,542 Shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 706,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,542 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of Restaurant Brands International worth $55,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QSR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth about $91,144,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in Restaurant Brands International by 222.1% during the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,957,325 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $126,580,000 after buying an additional 1,349,590 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Restaurant Brands International by 3,650.9% during the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 787,687 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $46,002,000 after buying an additional 766,687 shares in the last quarter. Dorsal Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth about $48,502,000. Finally, Bridgewater Associates LP raised its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 360.2% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP now owns 882,707 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $51,616,000 after purchasing an additional 690,887 shares during the period. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on QSR. TD Securities dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $90.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $88.00 to $87.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $82.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Matthew Dunnigan sold 14,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $1,110,726.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,260,112.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Matthew Dunnigan sold 14,565 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total value of $1,110,726.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 55,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,260,112.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider David Chan Shear sold 17,556 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.26, for a total transaction of $1,338,820.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 210,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,055,399.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 380,200 shares of company stock worth $28,828,182. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

NYSE QSR opened at $71.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.81. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.77 and a 1 year high of $83.29.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The restaurant operator reported $0.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a net margin of 16.95% and a return on equity of 32.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.72 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 4th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 21st were given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 20th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.54%.

About Restaurant Brands International

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.