MQS Management LLC Takes Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,698 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $656,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of YUM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake 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 worth $2,512,561,000 after buying an additional 3,470,883 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 10.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,033,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,813 shares during the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 34.1% during the first quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,681,933 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $233,200,000 after acquiring an additional 427,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,445,000 after acquiring an additional 178,612 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.5 %

Yum! Brands stock traded up $0.65 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $135.26. 3,054,847 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,954,313. The company has a fifty day moving average of $134.37 and a 200-day moving average of $134.64. The company has a market cap of $37.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.70 and a twelve month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at $20,518,588.62. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total transaction of $974,956.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 22,388 shares of company stock worth $3,038,177 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.94.

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.