Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $916,000 Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $916,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the 2nd 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. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $130.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $36.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.65.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,883 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,351.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $941,682.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 155,883 shares in the company, valued at $20,955,351.69. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,629 shares of company stock valued at $13,888,443. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on YUM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.25.

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.