Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO David W. Gibbs Sells 7,061 Shares of Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,596,900.90. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $135.42 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $138.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.70. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.33.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.