Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $78.46 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 11.5% during the first quarter, owning approximately $78.5 million worth of stock at the end of the quarter.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their positions in Yum! Brands, leading to 82.37% of the company's stock being owned by such entities.
• Yum! Brands reported a miss in EPS estimates for the latest quarter, with earnings of $1.44 per share compared to an expected $1.46, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 11.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 498,597 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 51,419 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.18% of Yum! Brands worth $78,459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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 decreased their price objective 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. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $142.12. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,606,719 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,154,852. 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 $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.73. The firm's 50-day moving average is $145.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.21.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid 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 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total transaction of $40,332.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,983 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,764. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands 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.