Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Has $34.93 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 44.6%, acquiring an additional 68,430 shares to own approximately 0.08% of the company, valued at $34.9 million.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO David W. Gibbs selling 7,106 shares for over $1 million, resulting in a 6.46% decrease in his holdings.
• Yum! Brands recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71, translating to an annual yield of 1.9%, with the payout ratio currently at 56.02%.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 44.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,950 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 68,430 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned about 0.08% of Yum! Brands worth $34,926,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.7%

Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.94 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $143.61. 1,484,374 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,125,688. The firm has a market cap of $39.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.33, a PEG ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $146.92 and a 200 day moving average of $148.13. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.84, for a total value of $1,043,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,108,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total value of $36,798.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $245,559.60. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,543 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.23.

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.