Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $11.24 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Meeder Asset Management Inc. significantly increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 37,882.4%, acquiring an additional 71,219 shares and bringing their total holdings to approximately $11.2 million.
• In recent insider trading, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of Yum! Brands, resulting in a 6.47% decrease in his ownership, while another executive, Scott Mezvinsky, also reduced his stake by 13.42% through a smaller sale.
• Yum! Brands reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.30, slightly beating expectations, while its shares trade around $144.40, with a market capitalization of $40.14 billion.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 37,882.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,407 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 71,219 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands accounts for about 0.8% of Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. Meeder Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $11,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. LGT Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $41,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.1%

Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.66 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $145.81. 1,009,270 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,121,716. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $163.30. The firm has a market cap of $40.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.05, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $145.65 and a 200 day moving average of $146.12.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.01. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 18.42%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.85 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.15 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% 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 David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 directly owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,720 shares of company stock valued at $2,150,965. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Citigroup upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Guggenheim upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $159.86.

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.