AMF Tjanstepension AB Takes $12.85 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 96,904 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,846,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607,517 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,033,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,813 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,939,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $823,534,000 after purchasing an additional 121,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $331,831,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.38 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $136.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,070,985 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,002,436. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.12. The firm has a market cap of $38.43 billion, a PE ratio of 24.06, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 27,089 shares of company stock valued at $3,693,505 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.