Insider Selling: Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells 7,005 Shares of Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,955,351.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.62 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $133.94. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 699,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,957,763. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $133.15 and a 200-day moving average of $135.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the 1st 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. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.25.

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.