Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $40,176.84 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $40,176.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at $10,840,607.94. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of YUM opened at $168.01 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $46.44 billion, a PE ratio of 30.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $157.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $151.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Barclays set a $185.00 price objective on Yum! Brands and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after buying an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.