Griffin Asset Management Inc. Sells 260 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Griffin Asset Management Inc. reduced its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 9,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Griffin Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $47,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,073 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.14, for a total transaction of $969,991.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,160,066.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $132.46. The company had a trading volume of 5,818,971 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,881,942. The business’s 50-day moving average is $137.51 and its 200-day moving average is $135.03. The stock has a market cap of $37.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 47.52%.

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.