Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Holdings Lowered by Nordea Investment Management AB

Nordea Investment Management AB decreased its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 42.0% in the first quarter. Other investors such as Naples Money Management LLC and Bfsg LLC also acquired stakes in Yum! Brands. Several analysts have recently given ratings and price targets for the stock. Insiders, including Director Paget Leonard Alves and CEO David W. Gibbs, have sold shares of Yum! Brands. The company reported lower than expected earnings for the last quarter. Yum! Brands' stock price has been fluctuating and the company has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion.

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 42.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 307,941 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 223,162 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 0.11% of Yum! Brands worth $42,665,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.33.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at $22,596,900.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

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Shares of YUM stock opened at $127.94 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $36.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.07. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $136.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

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