National Pension Service Increases Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 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 owned approximately 0.20% of Yum! Brands worth $73,715,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective 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. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.53.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.32 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.28. 714,668 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,993,388. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $138.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 30,373 shares of company stock valued at $4,087,920. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.