Ascent Group LLC Purchases 2,759 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Ascent Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 148.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,612 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,759 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $726,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value of $1,043,352.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total transaction of $1,811,492.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $4,271,543. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.2%

NYSE:YUM opened at $146.11 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $146.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $148.03. The company has a market cap of $40.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 56.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $164.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $164.00 price target (down from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $161.23.

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.