Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Acquired by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,303 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 673 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,976,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $233,200,000 after buying an additional 427,487 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,445,000 after purchasing an additional 178,612 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,708,000 after purchasing an additional 147,180 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $19,041,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $134.22 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $123.70 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $134.42 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 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. 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 owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,518,588.62. The trade was a 4.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on YUM. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. 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 report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Loop Capital reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

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.