Rathbones Group PLC Cuts Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• Rathbones Group PLC has reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. by 19.4%, selling 3,362 shares and holding a total of 13,995 shares worth approximately $2.2 million.
• CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares valued at over $1 million, representing a 6.47% decrease in his ownership.
• Yum! Brands recently reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, falling short of the consensus estimate of $1.46, but saw a 9.6% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Rathbones Group PLC reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 19.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,995 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 3,362 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC grew 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 acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 436.5% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 279 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of Yum! Brands 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 in the company, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. This trade represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $260,231.40. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,920 shares of company stock valued at $1,159,603. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $144.76 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.55, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $163.30. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $145.40 and a 200 day moving average of $147.16.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on YUM. Redburn Atlantic raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Melius began coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.23.

About Yum! Brands

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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