Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Atlas Brown Inc.

Atlas Brown Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 18.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 429 shares during the quarter. Atlas Brown Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $135.42 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $134.70. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.53 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Guggenheim raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,515 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,080 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.