Norden Group LLC Acquires New Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 24,626 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,415,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,831,000. Capital World Investors increased its position in Yum! Brands by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,650,728 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,914,257,000 after buying an additional 678,659 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,254,446 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $163,906,000 after buying an additional 649,922 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 55.8% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,592,259 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $208,045,000 after acquiring an additional 570,263 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,452 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $3,058,156,000 after acquiring an additional 373,232 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company's stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on YUM shares. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.3 %

YUM stock traded down $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $129.58. 935,934 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,127,605. The stock has a market cap of $36.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.53 and a 1-year high of $143.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $136.88 and a 200-day moving average of $135.06.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. Yum! Brands's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.06 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. 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 (DPR) is 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.