Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $102.32 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 737,960 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,201 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of Yum! Brands worth $102,318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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 for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $129.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $137.12 and a 200-day moving average of $135.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current 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. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.