GAMMA Investing LLC Acquires Shares of 2,709 Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,709 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at about $43,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

YUM opened at $141.81 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $137.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $130.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.24.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.75.

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.