National Pension Service Acquires 12,847 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 564,171 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 12,847 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $73,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,373 shares of company stock valued at $4,087,920. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on YUM shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.53.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $1.32 during trading on Thursday, hitting $138.28. The stock had a trading volume of 714,668 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,993,388. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $131.92. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

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.