Capital Analysts LLC Purchases 2,127 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 169.1% in the first quarter, now owning 3,385 shares valued at $533,000.
• Several large investors, including Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC and Principal Financial Group Inc., have also significantly boosted their positions in Yum! Brands during the same period.
• Yum! Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.9% as the company prepares for its upcoming September payment.

Capital Analysts LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 169.1% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,385 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,127 shares during the period. Capital Analysts LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.8% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 10,811 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,701,000 after buying an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 6.1% in the first quarter. Legacy Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 4,163 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $655,000 after buying an additional 240 shares in the last quarter. GSG Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $205,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth approximately $3,015,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 100.7% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,247 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $826,000 after buying an additional 2,632 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,108,808.12. This trade represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated 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 $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 29,284 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,663 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Melius started coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Ten 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 has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.2%

YUM traded down $0.2870 during trading on Friday, reaching $147.7230. The stock had a trading volume of 1,995,333 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,313,092. The stock's 50 day moving average is $146.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $148.16. The company has a market capitalization of $41.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during 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%.Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.02%.

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.