Franklin Resources Inc. Has $17.62 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 12.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 130,858 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 14,032 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $17,620,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,049 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 3,460 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,321 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $464,000 after buying an additional 79 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 17.4% in the second quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 587 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $78,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded up $2.00 during trading on Friday, reaching $132.36. 3,187,965 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,922,708. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $135.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.76 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 50.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Twelve 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 a consensus price target of $145.94.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,879 shares of company stock worth $2,424,167. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.