Whittier Trust Co. Has $1.01 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 36.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,598 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,010 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,006,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after acquiring an additional 5,607,517 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $331,831,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,668,000. Finally, Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,033,906,000 after buying an additional 1,362,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total transaction of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total transaction of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 101,685 shares of company stock valued at $13,910,094. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $135.25 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $132.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $135.85. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.