Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP Sells 1,507 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP decreased its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,128 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,507 shares during the period. Klingenstein Fields & Co. LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $14,323,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,022,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607,517 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $331,831,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $200,668,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,033,906,000 after buying an additional 1,362,813 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of Yum! Brands 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 101,685 shares of company stock valued at $13,910,094. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of YUM stock traded down $0.33 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $134.92. 1,892,800 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,967,391. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $37.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.92, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $132.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.92.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released 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 net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

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.