Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Purchased by Welch Group LLC

Welch Group LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the quarter. Welch Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brookstone Capital Management increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 12.3% during the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 2,141 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 234 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 21.8% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 42,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,961,000 after acquiring an additional 7,686 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.2% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $301,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 24.5% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 2,783 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 547 shares during the period. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 48,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,705,000 after purchasing an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM traded up $2.03 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $135.07. 166,987 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,928,461. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $134.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.04. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.26 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.98 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 49.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of Yum! Brands 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at $21,947,485.44. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $169,414.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,673 shares of company stock valued at $13,918,095. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.44.

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.