Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $3,415,000. Leo Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $268,000. Syon Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $437,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 333,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $44,000,000 after acquiring an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,259,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at approximately $169,414.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 94,624 shares of company stock valued at $12,946,761. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $133.65 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.75. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Yum! Brands Profile

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.