CIBC Asset Management Inc Reduces Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

CIBC Asset Management Inc decreased its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 69,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,141 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $9,254,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after purchasing an additional 5,607,517 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,033,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,813 shares during the last quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the first quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,939,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $823,534,000 after purchasing an additional 121,285 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $331,831,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $169,414.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $179,856.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,414.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,685 shares of company stock worth $13,910,094 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $133.48 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The business’s 50-day moving average is $132.51 and its 200 day moving average is $135.91.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

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.