Andra AP fonden Reduces Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Andra AP fonden cut its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 50.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 37,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 37,600 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,928,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth about $37,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.00.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $134.03 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.05 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 simple moving average is $132.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.82.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total transaction of $179,856.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,685 shares of company stock worth $13,910,094. Company 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.