24,626 Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Bought by Norden Group LLC

Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 24,626 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 14.6% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 318.7% in the 3rd quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 204,952 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,607,000 after purchasing an additional 156,000 shares during the period. KPP Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.6% during the third quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 34,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,294,000 after buying an additional 1,184 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the third quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. now owns 108,041 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $13,504,000 after buying an additional 4,085 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $129.52 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 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. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

About Yum! Brands

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.