US Asset Management LLC Makes New $298,000 Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

US Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,281 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $298,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,766,650 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $720,485,000 after buying an additional 210,238 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Yum! Brands by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,278,341 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $409,596,000 after purchasing an additional 124,080 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 121.8% during the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 1,819,809 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $227,367,000 after purchasing an additional 999,443 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,555,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $203,178,000 after purchasing an additional 33,501 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,266,114 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $165,430,000 after purchasing an additional 69,703 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of Yum! Brands 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 30,373 shares of company stock valued at $4,087,920. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $137.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,987,759 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,008,175. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $131.95. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The company has a market cap of $38.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.06 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, May 1st. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.53.

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.