AlphaQuest LLC Buys 10,237 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• AlphaQuest LLC significantly increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 1,023,700% during the first quarter, acquiring an additional 10,237 shares and bringing its total holdings to 10,238 shares worth approximately $1.6 million.
• Yum! Brands reported less than expected earnings for the quarter, with $1.44 EPS, missing the consensus estimate by $0.02, and revenue of $1.93 billion against an expected $1.94 billion.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 1.9%, payable on September 12th to investors on record as of September 2nd.

AlphaQuest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 1,023,700.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,238 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 10,237 shares during the quarter. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,611,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 14,795.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 769,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $121,137,000 after buying an additional 764,637 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $97,453,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $475,714,000 after buying an additional 601,361 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,109,219 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,367,427,000 after buying an additional 483,918 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,940,044 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $305,286,000 after buying an additional 430,511 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE YUM opened at $147.7230 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $41.00 billion, a PE ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $146.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $148.05. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The company's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 56.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 28th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.23.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total transaction of $40,332.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,284 shares of company stock worth $4,310,663. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.