Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 60.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,686 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 57,294 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 24.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $4,022,648,000 after buying an additional 5,607,517 shares during the period. Capital World Investors increased its position in Yum! Brands by 23.7% during 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 during the period. Capital International Investors increased 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 buying an additional 1,362,813 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. increased 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 buying an additional 427,487 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,445,000 after buying an additional 178,612 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $169,414.20. This trade represents a 51.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,319 shares of company stock valued at $2,063,221. Insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded down $3.15 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $133.59. The company had a trading volume of 1,679,022 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,613. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.70 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The company has a market capitalization of $37.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $134.42 and its 200 day simple moving average is $134.59.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted 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). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target 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.