Perigon Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.48 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 9,241 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,477,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.5% during the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on YUM. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.9%

NYSE YUM opened at $145.36 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a PE ratio of 18.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.