Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Lowers Stake

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 646,989 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 22,032 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $88,210,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $740,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317,526 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $279,432,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $157.33 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.26 and a 1-year high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.55. The company’s 50-day moving average is $146.30 and its 200 day moving average is $153.48.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total value of $41,175.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,054.48. This represents a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $474. This represents a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,288 shares of company stock valued at $666,149. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $184.00 to $175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 30th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $158.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $163.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $167.00 target price (down from $174.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $171.65.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that operates, franchises and licenses quick-service and fast-casual restaurants. Its principal brands are KFC, which specializes in fried and other chicken products; Taco Bell, which offers Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which sells pizzas and related menu items; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual burger restaurant chain.

The company’s business is primarily franchise-based, with restaurants operated by independent franchisees and licensees alongside company-operated locations.