Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 34,152 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,695 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 3,216 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its position in Yum! Brands by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,576 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 9.5% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 602 shares during the last quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $1,259,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $134.27 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $118.28 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $135.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.17.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,818.61. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total value of $1,134,562.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,818.61. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total transaction of $9,745,355.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,326.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 101,673 shares of company stock valued at $13,918,095 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the company from $156.00 to $145.00 in a report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.56.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.