Qsemble Capital Management LP Trims Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Qsemble Capital Management LP decreased its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 56.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,017 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,142 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $561,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

YUM stock opened at $139.33 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.70 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $134.80 and its 200 day moving average is $134.50.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $959,600.46. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,307,396.90. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Loop Capital cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.94.

Yum! Brands 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.