National Pension Service Increases Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 564,171 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 12,847 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned 0.20% of Yum! Brands worth $73,715,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 121.8% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,819,809 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $227,367,000 after buying an additional 999,443 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.0% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,208,137 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $150,945,000 after buying an additional 533,321 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 129.5% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 769,543 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $96,147,000 after purchasing an additional 434,284 shares during the period. J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $36,663,000. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.8% during the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,766,650 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $720,485,000 after buying an additional 210,238 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 30,373 shares of company stock worth $4,087,920 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of YUM traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $137.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,987,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,175. The company has a 50 day moving average of $138.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $131.95. The firm has a market cap of $38.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.53 and a 1-year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.53.

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.