Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Has $3.96 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Generali Asset Management SPA SGR reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 8.9% during Q2, bringing its holdings to 26,719 shares worth approximately $3.96 million.
• Insiders, including Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick and CEO Scott Mezvinsky, have sold shares totaling 29,078 shares worth around $4.3 million in the past quarter, indicating potential shifts in ownership dynamics.
• Yum! Brands recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, marking a 2.0% yield annually, with a payout ratio of 56.02%.

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 8.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,719 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 2,605 shares during the period. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,959,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 6.3% during the 2nd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 2,812 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $417,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 219.4% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 32.1% during the 2nd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the period. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,513 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $211,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total transaction of $41,962.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $267,795.45. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,078 shares of company stock valued at $4,304,785 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Wednesday, August 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $165.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.48.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $144.34 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.72. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $147.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $146.58. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 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.

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