Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Stock: International Assets Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake

International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2,946.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,538 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands accounts for approximately 0.2% of International Assets Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. International Assets Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $10,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $1,589,000. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $99,621,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 114.4% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 53,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $8,503,000 after buying an additional 28,380 shares during the last quarter. SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $15,285,000. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 470,206 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $75,167,000 after buying an additional 18,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.9%

NYSE YUM opened at $161.35 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.26 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.95, a PEG ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a fifty day moving average of $146.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $153.58.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 3rd. The restaurant operator reported $1.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.51 by $0.05. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 39.14% and a negative return on equity of 25.54%. The business had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.41 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 24.08%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total value of $41,175.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,054.48. This trade represents a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 4,288 shares of company stock worth $666,149. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. BTIG Research restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 price target (down from $174.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $177.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 3rd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $171.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.67.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates and franchises quick-service restaurants under the KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill brands. Its restaurants serve customers through dine-in, takeout, delivery and digital ordering channels.

The company’s brands offer a range of products, including KFC’s chicken meals, Taco Bell’s Mexican-inspired food, Pizza Hut’s pizzas and related items, and Habit Burger & Grill’s chargrilled burgers and sandwiches.