Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Has $12.97 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,211 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 221 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $12,971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of YUM. First Command Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Chelsea Counsel Co. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 127.7% during the fourth quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 214 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TimeScale Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $31,000. 80.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.27, for a total value of $686,350.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 16,052 shares in the company, valued at $2,203,458.04. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.27, for a total transaction of $686,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,203,458.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,332 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.46, for a total value of $179,100.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $165,789.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,951 shares of company stock worth $2,444,113. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $139.00 to $138.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $142.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $155.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, August 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $148.84.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $129.74 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $103.96 and a 52-week high of $143.24. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.01.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The restaurant operator reported $1.41 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.24 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.69 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.75 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.31% and a negative return on equity of 16.16%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.05 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 29th will be issued a $0.605 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 28th. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.87%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 48.99%.

Yum! Brands Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It 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.