Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Position Lifted by Investment Management Corp of Ontario

Investment Management Corp of Ontario boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 51.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,414 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,315,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUM. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,123,000 after acquiring an additional 104,328 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after purchasing an additional 7,814 shares during the period. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $138.15 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.70 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $135.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on YUM. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Company 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.