TD Asset Management Inc Grows Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.4%, owning approximately 1,954,145 shares valued at $307.5 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Yum! Brands has recently been upgraded by several analysts, with Goldman Sachs raising its rating to "buy" and setting a price target of $167.00.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, translating to an annual yield of 1.93% and a payout ratio of 56.57%.

TD Asset Management Inc lifted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,954,145 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 27,355 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc owned 0.70% of Yum! Brands worth $307,504,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $418,692,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 14,795.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 769,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $121,137,000 after purchasing an additional 764,637 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Yum! Brands by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $475,714,000 after purchasing an additional 601,361 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $43,944,000. Finally, Man Group plc raised its position in Yum! Brands by 602.1% in the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 364,836 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $48,946,000 after purchasing an additional 312,871 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on YUM shares. Melius started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.77 on Wednesday, hitting $146.95. 427,464 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,117,231. The firm's 50-day moving average is $145.67 and its 200 day moving average is $145.97. The company has a market capitalization of $40.84 billion, a PE ratio of 29.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.74. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the company'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 value of $1,043,352.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,084,113.80. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total value of $40,332.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $260,231.40. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 14,720 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,965. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.