NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC Raises Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 113,372 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 1,370 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $15,839,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1 %

YUM stock traded down $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $133.04. 956,675 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,936,955. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $118.28 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.09. The company has a market capitalization of $37.47 billion, a PE ratio of 23.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 47.52%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,947,485.44. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total transaction of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at $21,947,485.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 101,673 shares of company stock valued at $13,918,095. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $146.44.

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.