KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys 35,800 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 36.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 135,248 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 35,800 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $20,041,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $97,453,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $5,367,427,000 after acquiring an additional 483,918 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2,288.1% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 502,267 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $74,426,000 after acquiring an additional 481,235 shares during the last quarter. Platinum Investment Management Ltd. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $64,352,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew 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 worth $305,286,000 after acquiring an additional 430,511 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.5%

YUM opened at $146.04 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $147.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The company has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total transaction of $41,962.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,795.45. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $179,154.90. This represents a 62.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 36,195 shares of company stock worth $5,348,137 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.48.

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.

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