GAMMA Investing LLC Takes Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 2,709 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Calamos Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,692 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,003 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,046,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 8,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Cozad Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. Cozad Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,439 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $305,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

YUM opened at $141.81 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.24. The company has a market cap of $39.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $137.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $130.61.

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.