Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Sells 3,910 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.6% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 105,360 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,910 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,956,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wesbanco Bank Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $552,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $737,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $328,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,045 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction of $912,030.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,685 shares of company stock valued at $13,910,094 in the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $133.48 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.51 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.91. The company has a market cap of $37.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding 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 leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.00.

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.