Infusive Asset Management Inc. Boosts Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Infusive Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 15.1% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,684 shares during the period. Yum! Brands comprises about 2.5% of Infusive Asset Management Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Infusive Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $6,066,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 278 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth about $39,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $139.33 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $123.70 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $134.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.54.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued 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). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 50.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,955,351.69. The trade was a 4.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.