Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Acquires 5,134 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 128.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,134 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,275,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% during the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

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 transaction of $959,600.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,307,396.90. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $137.00 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.76 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $135.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.61, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 50.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

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.