MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 2,092 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 78,043 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,092 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $10,903,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 104,328 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.1% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 73,844 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 18.2% during the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after buying an additional 7,814 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $984,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $139.33 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.70 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $134.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.54. The firm has a market cap of $38.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.