IFM Investors Pty Ltd Increases Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 57,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 3,010 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $7,969,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $3,415,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $419,123,000 after acquiring an additional 104,328 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,763,000 after acquiring an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 333,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000,000 after purchasing an additional 5,137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $133.04 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.28 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $134.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.09. The company has a market cap of $37.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total transaction of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,326.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total transaction of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total transaction of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,673 shares of company stock valued at $13,918,095. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus dropped 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. Evercore ISI downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.44.

Yum! Brands Profile

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.