David W. Gibbs Sells 3,815 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of YUM opened at $131.46 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.76 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The company’s fifty day moving average is $135.36 and its 200-day moving average is $134.45. The firm has a market cap of $36.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 50.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.94.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.