Federated Hermes Inc. Has $771,000 Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 327.9%, acquiring an additional 3,754 shares during the first quarter, bringing the total to 4,899 shares valued at $771,000.
• Yum! Brands reported a net margin of 18.11% and generated $1.93 billion in revenue for the latest quarter, missing analysts' expectations slightly.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, which reflects an annualized yield of 2.0% and a dividend payout ratio of 56.02%.

Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 327.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,899 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 3,754 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $164.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, TD Securities reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock traded down $1.22 on Friday, hitting $141.34. 2,263,240 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,120. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30. The stock has a market cap of $39.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average of $145.49 and a 200 day moving average of $146.98.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value 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 represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total value of $40,332.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,231.40. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,983 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,764. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands 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.