Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC has reduced its stake in Yum! Brands by 15.5%, holding 22,345 shares valued at approximately $3.52 million.
• Yum! Brands reported a quarterly EPS of $1.44, falling short of analysts' expectations of $1.46, while its revenue grew 9.6% year-over-year.
• The company maintains a dividend yield of 2.0% with an annual payout of $2.84 per share, reflecting a payout ratio of 56.02%.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 15.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,345 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,105 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $245,559.60. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at $15,084,113.80. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 14,983 shares of company stock worth $2,187,764 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $142.12. 1,606,719 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,086,219. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $145.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.18. The firm 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. TD Securities reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Melius began coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Redburn Atlantic raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

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.