Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) Given New $78.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) had its price objective reduced by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $80.00 to $78.00 in a report released on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the restaurant operator’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on QSR. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $72.00 to $68.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $81.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.08.

Restaurant Brands International Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE QSR opened at $67.16 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.02, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.25. Restaurant Brands International has a 12 month low of $59.67 and a 12 month high of $80.02. The stock has a market cap of $21.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its 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, analysts predict that Restaurant Brands International will post 3.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 21st. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.69%. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.99%.

Insider Transactions at Restaurant Brands International

In other news, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 3,511 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.20, for a total transaction of $225,406.20. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,114,555.40. The trade was a 9.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.12, for a total value of $851,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 235,228 shares in the company, valued at $16,023,731.36. This represents a 5.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 300,226 shares of company stock valued at $19,121,223 over the last 90 days. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 43,418,188 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,829,974,000 after acquiring an additional 841,167 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 3.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 13,165,498 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $858,101,000 after acquiring an additional 421,873 shares during the last quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 26.6% in the fourth quarter. EdgePoint Investment Group Inc. now owns 12,819,570 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $834,478,000 after acquiring an additional 2,695,071 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Restaurant Brands International in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $264,813,000. Finally, Meritage Group LP lifted its holdings in Restaurant Brands International by 5,795.9% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 3,301,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,204,000 after acquiring an additional 3,245,689 shares during the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.