Duality Advisers LP Purchases 762 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Duality Advisers LP raised its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 13,553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 762 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.00.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $139.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.10. The company’s fifty day moving average is $137.38 and its 200 day moving average is $130.39. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.24.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 17.76% and a net margin of 22.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 20th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 47.94%.

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.