Raymond James Financial Inc. Purchases Shares of 295,236 Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 295,236 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $19,243,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Restaurant Brands International as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in QSR. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 213.6% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 314 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 183.9% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 636 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the 4th quarter worth $74,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International by 74.8% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,325 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 567 shares in the last quarter. 82.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on QSR shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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. Guggenheim raised Restaurant Brands International from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $74.00 to $71.00 in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Restaurant Brands International from $86.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Restaurant Brands International from $73.00 to $67.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Restaurant Brands International currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Duncan Fulton sold 27,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 34,822 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,251,590.52. This trade represents a 44.13 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Joshua Kobza sold 93,619 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.35, for a total value of $5,837,144.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 287,726 shares of company stock valued at $18,269,723 over the last three months. 1.36% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Restaurant Brands International Trading Up 0.5 %

Restaurant Brands International stock opened at $66.07 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $21.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.78, a PEG ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 0.95. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a one year low of $59.67 and a one year high of $81.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $63.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.29.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR) (TSE:QSR) last posted its 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%. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 4th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 21st will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. This is an increase 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 presently 77.99%.

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.