Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) Holdings Reduced by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) by 48.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 55,733 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 52,828 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Restaurant Brands International were worth $3,633,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in QSR. Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Restaurant Brands International by 213.6% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 183.9% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at $60,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at about $74,000. 82.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on QSR shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on shares of Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Barclays dropped their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on 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. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Argus upgraded Restaurant Brands International from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $76.63.

Restaurant Brands International Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE:QSR opened at $62.97 on Tuesday. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $58.71 and a fifty-two week high of $77.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The stock has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.63.

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

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.94%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 21st. This is an increase from Restaurant Brands International’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.58. Restaurant Brands International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.99%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Sami A. Siddiqui sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 235,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,023,731.36. This trade represents a 5.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Duncan Fulton sold 27,500 shares of Restaurant Brands International stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.66, for a total value of $1,778,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,822 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,251,590.52. This represents a 44.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 278,716 shares of company stock valued at $17,740,281 over the last 90 days. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.