Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 10.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,456 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,422 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $16,270,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,445,000 after acquiring an additional 178,612 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 147,180 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 435.5% in the 2nd quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 86,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $11,458,000 after buying an additional 70,350 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.6 %

YUM opened at $138.21 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.41 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.57 billion, a PE ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day moving average of $135.45 and a 200-day moving average of $134.45.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on YUM. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $959,600.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.