Pensionfund Sabic Decreases Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Pensionfund Sabic lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 19.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,400 shares during the period. Pensionfund Sabic’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,526,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $4,271,543. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $149.49 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.56 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.98. The firm has a market cap of $41.49 billion, a PE ratio of 29.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 company 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 posted $1.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Barclays restated an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 target price (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.23.

About Yum! Brands

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.