Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New $3.02 Million Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Quantbot Technologies LP has invested approximately $3.02 million in Yum! Brands, Inc., acquiring 19,158 shares in the first quarter, as disclosed in its latest 13F filing.
• Yum! Brands reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.44, marginally missing analysts' expectation of $1.46, although its revenue increased by 9.6% year-over-year.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Scott Mezvinsky selling 263 shares and CEO David W. Gibbs selling 7,106 shares of Yum! Brands, impacting their ownership percentages.

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,158 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,015,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 100.7% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,247 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $826,000 after buying an additional 2,632 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.6% during the first quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 24,419 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,843,000 after buying an additional 1,715 shares during the period. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $264,000. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $2,705,000. Finally, Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 102.6% during the first quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 238,444 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $37,214,000 after buying an additional 120,730 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $149.2170 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.41 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.73. The business's 50-day moving average is $145.96 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.82.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $245,559.60. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.84, for a total value of $1,043,445.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,108,808.12. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,284 shares of company stock worth $4,310,663 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. TD Cowen cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Ten 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 target price of $161.23.

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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