Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Willner & Heller LLC

Willner & Heller LLC lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,475 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 269 shares during the quarter. Willner & Heller LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $332,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $146.24.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $125.31 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $133.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.63.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

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.