Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 1,484 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $197,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 24.0% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,022,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607,517 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised 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 worth $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,362,813 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,939,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $823,534,000 after buying an additional 121,285 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 36.6% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,174,526 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,498,000 after buying an additional 582,267 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total value of $1,134,562.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,159 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,818.61. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total value of $1,134,562.86. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,159 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,818.61. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,629 shares of company stock worth $13,888,443. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.25.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $129.71 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $133.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.50. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.52%.

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.