Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Acquired by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 21.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 42,993 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 7,686 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,961,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,405,452 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,058,156,000 after purchasing an additional 373,232 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,650,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,914,257,000 after acquiring an additional 678,659 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $331,831,000. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 55.8% in the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,592,259 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $208,045,000 after acquiring an additional 570,263 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,555,012 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $203,178,000 after acquiring an additional 33,501 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,080 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $129.70 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.10. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.07%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Barclays upped their price objective 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. 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 price objective for the company. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.33.

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.