KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Increases Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 99,448 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $15,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.72 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $145.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.35. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.01. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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 1.92%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $153.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $159.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 approximately $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 have sold 14,720 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,965. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.