iA Global Asset Management Inc. Acquires 4,955 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 83.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,907 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 4,955 shares during the quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in 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 valued at $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 140.1% during the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,763,000 after acquiring an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 18.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,807 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,730,000 after acquiring an additional 7,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $984,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $139.08. 1,411,002 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,923,599. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $135.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.45. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $124.41 and a 1-year high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last three months, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.94.

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.