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

US Asset Management LLC lowered its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,179 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 87 shares during the period. US Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at $37,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI cut Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.00.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total value of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares in the company, valued at $4,017,818.61. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,017,818.61. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction of $912,030.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,685 shares of company stock worth $13,910,094 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $133.64 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $133.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted 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. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

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.