Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $3.78 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd cut its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 27,073 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 382 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $441,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.0% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 7,313 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 182.2% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 100,315 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,015,000 after acquiring an additional 64,771 shares in the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 57,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,969,000 after purchasing an additional 3,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $210,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the firm’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 owns 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,326.88. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,351.69. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,326.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,673 shares of company stock worth $13,918,095. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $133.04 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.59, a PEG ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $118.28 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 47.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $156.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.