Gradient Investments LLC Buys 409 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Gradient Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,375 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 409 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607,517 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470,883 shares during the last quarter. 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 valued at $2,033,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,813 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,939,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $823,534,000 after acquiring an additional 121,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $331,831,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on YUM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,818.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,818.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 100,376 shares of company stock worth $13,730,237. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.40. 1,669,807 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,394. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.43. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase 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 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.