Verition Fund Management LLC Has $332,000 Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Verition Fund Management LLC cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 94.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 39,642 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.2 %

YUM stock opened at $137.00 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $135.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.50. The firm has a market cap of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.76 and a 12 month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) 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). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. 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 lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.94.

Yum! Brands Company 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.