Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Kingsview Wealth Management LLC

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.1% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 9,334 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,831,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $200,668,000. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 14,650,728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,914,257,000 after buying an additional 678,659 shares in the last quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the fourth quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 1,254,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $163,906,000 after buying an additional 649,922 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 2,174,526 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $301,498,000 after acquiring an additional 582,267 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $0.96 on Friday, hitting $127.35. 1,181,560 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,985,271. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $134.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.63 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.14, for a total transaction of $969,991.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 168,879 shares in the company, valued at $23,160,066.06. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,073 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.14, for a total transaction of $969,991.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,879 shares in the company, valued at $23,160,066.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,398 shares of company stock worth $4,552,727. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.31.

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.