Silverlake Wealth Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Silverlake Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,754 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $243,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 531,103 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $69,596,000 after purchasing an additional 198,069 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 112,905 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,752,000 after acquiring an additional 16,124 shares in the last quarter. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $381,000. American National Bank grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. American National Bank now owns 23,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 7,934 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $268,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $130.03 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $137.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.09. The stock has a market cap of $36.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.