Blue Trust Inc. Has $401,000 Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,893 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $401,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607,517 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after acquiring an additional 3,470,883 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,033,906,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,813 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,939,663 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $823,534,000 after acquiring an additional 121,285 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $331,831,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,818.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the business’s 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,818.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 100,376 shares of company stock valued at $13,730,237 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM traded down $0.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $137.40. 1,669,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,981,394. The stock has a market cap of $38.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $132.56 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.43.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Evercore ISI cut Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. 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 note on Monday, June 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Yum! Brands Company 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.