New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 26,361 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lessened its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 7.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 325,368 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 26,361 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned about 0.12% of Yum! Brands worth $42,513,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 531,103 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,596,000 after purchasing an additional 198,069 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 16.7% in the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 112,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,752,000 after acquiring an additional 16,124 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,689 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $711,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 11,541.6% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 141,678 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $18,512,000 after buying an additional 140,461 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $141.81 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $137.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $130.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on YUM. Oppenheimer raised Yum! Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 5th. Guggenheim upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.75.

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.