Victory Capital Management Inc. Has $290.51 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 29.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,193,160 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 923,046 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.78% of Yum! Brands worth $290,506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $3,415,000. American National Bank raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 23,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $3,027,000 after buying an additional 7,934 shares during the period. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $268,000. Syon Capital LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Syon Capital LLC now owns 3,342 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $437,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 333,131 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $44,000,000 after buying an additional 5,137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $134.50 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.85, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $132.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.89.

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 firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during 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 last year, the business posted $1.41 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $179,856.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,414.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 value of $179,856.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $169,414.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at $22,596,900.90. 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. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on YUM. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. 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 report on Tuesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

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.