Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Decreases Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. has reduced its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 14.4%, now owning 75,902 shares valued at approximately $11.9 million after selling 12,726 shares.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Scott Mezvinsky selling 272 shares, representing a 13.42% decrease in ownership, and CEO David W. Gibbs selling 7,117 shares, leading to a 6.47% decrease in their position.
• The stock's recent performance shows a trading price of $148.19, with a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, and a quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.44, slightly below analyst expectations.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 14.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 75,902 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 12,726 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $11,944,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 23,661 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $3,176,000 after buying an additional 2,054 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 60,392 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $8,101,000 after buying an additional 1,316 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 5,508 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $739,000 after buying an additional 2,239 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 944,749 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $126,746,000 after buying an additional 19,210 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the business'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 owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $260,231.40. The trade was a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business'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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 9,958 shares of company stock worth $1,455,725. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $148.19 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.23, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $161.23.

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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