CCM Investment Group LLC Buys New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC has invested $2.21 million in Yum! Brands, Inc., acquiring 14,189 shares, according to a recent SEC filing.
• Yum! Brands reported earnings of $1.44 EPS for the last quarter, slightly missing the consensus estimate, while revenue was up 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, with an annualized dividend yield of 2.0%.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,210,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 151.4% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 156,690 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $24,657,000 after purchasing an additional 94,355 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $270,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $939,000. First National Bank Sioux Falls bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $283,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.9% during the 1st 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. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.6%

YUM traded up $0.85 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.12. 1,606,719 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,086,219. The business's 50 day moving average is $145.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $147.18. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30. The stock has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a PEG ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 56.02%.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $245,559.60. This trade represents a 13.03% 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 link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,983 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,764. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 28th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

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.