Banco Santander S.A. Sells 4,390 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Banco Santander S.A. reduced its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 16.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,900 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,390 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Evercore ISI downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.31.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded down $1.38 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $126.93. 2,045,961 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,144,245. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $134.63 and a 200 day moving average of $134.94. The company has a market cap of $35.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.11%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now 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 at this hyperlink. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,398 shares of company stock worth $4,552,727. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands 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.