V Square Quantitative Management LLC Has $1.19 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 8,491 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 464 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,186,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $3,415,000. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 140.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,763,000 after purchasing an additional 73,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 333,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $169,414.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,414.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 101,673 shares of company stock worth $13,918,095. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

YUM stock traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $133.97. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 113,127 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,949,253. The stock has a market cap of $37.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.71, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $135.07 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.26. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.28 and a 1 year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.56.

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.