Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB Has $1.28 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 128.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,134 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $186,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Bard Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $713,000. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after acquiring an additional 17,133 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 7.4% during the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 39,713 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,547,000 after acquiring an additional 2,723 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,775,000 after acquiring an additional 111,147 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $137.00 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.76 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $135.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.49.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America cut their target price 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. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve equities 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,307,396.90. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.