Eukles Asset Management Has $2.68 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Eukles Asset Management lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,545 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 118 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands comprises about 1.3% of Eukles Asset Management’s holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. Eukles Asset Management’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,684,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,947,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $784,673,000 after purchasing an additional 90,152 shares during the period. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.8% in the third quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 5,766,650 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $720,485,000 after purchasing an additional 210,238 shares during the period. Capital World Investors grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 19.6% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,507,237 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $652,773,000 after purchasing an additional 901,181 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,365,517 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $517,792,000 after purchasing an additional 67,468 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,278,341 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $409,596,000 after purchasing an additional 124,080 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE:YUM traded up $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $138.20. 629,612 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,925,019. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.08. The company has a market cap of $38.90 billion, a PE ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.24.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 21st were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.61. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 47.94%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on YUM. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $154.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 5th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $144.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares in the company, valued at $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,910,900.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.