Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 4,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 238 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% during the second quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 278 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $138.94 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $123.70 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $134.53.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 152,634 shares in the company, valued at $20,518,588.62. This represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on YUM. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.94.

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.