Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 646 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,022,648,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607,517 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,033,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,813 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the period. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,681,933 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $233,200,000 after purchasing an additional 427,487 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The trade was a 51.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,319 shares of company stock worth $2,063,221. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Loop Capital decreased their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.94.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $133.59 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $123.70 and a 1-year high of $143.20. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.43 and its 200 day moving average is $134.66. The company has a market cap of $37.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.97, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

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.