Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Purchased by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV significantly increased its holdings in Yum! Brands, raising its stake by 356.4% to a total of 163,052 shares, valued at approximately $25.7 million.
• Institutional investors now own 82.37% of Yum! Brands, with notable increases in stakes from firms like GAMMA Investing LLC and Man Group plc.
• Analysts show a positive outlook, with the consensus rating for Yum! Brands at "Hold" and a target price of $159.86, reflecting optimism about the company's future performance.

ING Groep NV raised its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 356.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 163,052 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 127,326 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned 0.06% of Yum! Brands worth $25,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,795.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 769,805 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $121,137,000 after buying an additional 764,637 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 20.4% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $475,714,000 after acquiring an additional 601,361 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,944,000. Man Group plc lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 602.1% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 364,836 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $48,946,000 after purchasing an additional 312,871 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,195,586 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $160,400,000 after purchasing an additional 273,547 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $163.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $159.86.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. This represents a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,720 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,965. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $145.41 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $40.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a PEG ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.65 and a 200-day simple moving average of $146.54. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. 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.

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