Norden Group LLC Invests $3.42 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 24,626 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,415,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 531,103 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,596,000 after acquiring an additional 198,069 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 112,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after purchasing an additional 16,124 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $381,000. American National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 23,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $268,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $129.52 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment 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.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.33.

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.