Machina Capital S.A.S. Buys 2,627 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 39.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 9,276 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the period. Machina Capital S.A.S.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 151.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 156,690 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $24,657,000 after acquiring an additional 94,355 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $939,000. First National Bank Sioux Falls acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $283,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,103 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $55,564,000 after purchasing an additional 6,673 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Melius started 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 for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the firm'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 value 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. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,720 shares of company stock worth $2,150,965. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE YUM traded up $0.96 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $146.79. 1,152,517 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,674,857. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $145.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.45. The stock has a market cap of $40.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.24, a PEG ratio of 2.12 and a beta of 0.74. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.01. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.15 EPS. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 56.57%.

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.