Belmont Capital LLC Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Belmont Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc., purchasing 1,863 shares valued at approximately $293,000 during the first quarter.
• Yum! Brands has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, representing a 2.0% yield and a payout ratio of 56.02%.
• Several analysts have recently changed their target prices for Yum! Brands, with Barclays maintaining an "overweight" rating and adjusting their target price to $164.00.

Belmont Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,863 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $293,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 151.4% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 156,690 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $24,657,000 after purchasing an additional 94,355 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $270,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $939,000. First National Bank Sioux Falls acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at about $283,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,103 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $55,564,000 after acquiring an additional 6,673 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,154.90. This trade represents a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total value of $40,332.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock worth $4,271,543 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Barclays restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $164.00 target price (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $145.36 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.34 billion, a PE ratio of 28.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $146.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.15. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 56.02%.

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.

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