UBS Group AG Grows Stake in Restaurant Brands International Inc. $QSR

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 37% in Q4 to 1,408,839 shares (about 0.41% of the company), valued at roughly $96.1 million.
• RBI beat quarterly expectations with $0.96 EPS versus $0.93 and $2.47B in revenue (up 7.4% YoY), and analysts hold a "Moderate Buy" consensus with an average price target of $81.83.
• The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.65 (annualized $2.60, a 3.2% yield) but carries a high payout ratio of 110.17%, while insiders have sold about 441,490 shares (~$32.4M) in the past three months.

UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR - Free Report) TSE: QSR by 37.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,408,839 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 380,635 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.41% of Restaurant Brands International worth $96,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Restaurant Brands International during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Loring Wolcott & Coolidge Fiduciary Advisors LLP MA bought a new position in Restaurant Brands International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 41.0% during the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 1,032 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 45.6% during the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,079 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Restaurant Brands International by 17.1% during the fourth quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 1,606 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.29% of the company's stock.

Restaurant Brands International Price Performance

NYSE:QSR opened at $80.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.53. Restaurant Brands International Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.33 and a 1 year high of $81.67. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.62, a current ratio of 0.98 and a quick ratio of 0.91.

Restaurant Brands International (NYSE:QSR - Get Free Report) TSE: QSR last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 12th. The restaurant operator reported $0.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.93 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Restaurant Brands International had a return on equity of 32.51% and a net margin of 8.23%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.81 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Restaurant Brands International Inc. will post 4.05 EPS for the current year.

Restaurant Brands International Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 2nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 19th were paid a $0.65 dividend. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 19th. This is a positive change from Restaurant Brands International's previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. Restaurant Brands International's dividend payout ratio is 110.17%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Thiago T. Santelmo sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.41, for a total value of $754,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 78,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,924,209.60. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Jeffrey Housman sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,469,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 162,077 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,909,417.96. The trade was a 10.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 441,490 shares of company stock worth $32,375,140. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on QSR. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Truist Financial increased their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $82.00 price target on Restaurant Brands International in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $83.00 to $81.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Restaurant Brands International from $77.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $81.83.

About Restaurant Brands International

Restaurant Brands International Inc NYSE: QSR is a global quick-service restaurant company formed through the combination of established brands. The company's principal holdings include Burger King, Tim Hortons and Popeyes, each of which operates under its own brand identity and menu. Restaurant Brands International's business is centered on developing and expanding these franchised restaurant systems, supporting franchisees with brand management, supply chain coordination, and marketing programs.

RBI's restaurants offer a range of quick-service food and beverage products: Burger King is known for its flame-grilled hamburgers and sandwiches, Tim Hortons for coffee, baked goods and breakfast items, and Popeyes for Louisiana-style fried chicken and seafood.

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