National Bank of Canada FI Boosts Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI has increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 7.8%, now owning over 218,000 shares worth approximately $34.31 million.
• Yum! Brands recently reported a quarterly earnings miss with earnings per share at $1.44, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.46.
• The company has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.71, with an annualized yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 56.02%.

National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 218,041 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 15,834 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned approximately 0.08% of Yum! Brands worth $34,310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% in the fourth 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. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.9%

YUM stock opened at $141.34 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.88, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.98. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total value of $36,798.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at $245,559.60. This represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 14,983 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,764 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Redburn Atlantic upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the company 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.

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