Royal Bank of Canada Sells 215,539 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada has reduced its stake in Yum! Brands by 31.7%, selling 215,539 shares and owning 465,398 shares worth approximately $73.2 million after the sale.
• Yum! Brands announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, leading to an annualized dividend yield of 2.0% and a payout ratio of 56.02%.
• Analyst ratings for Yum! Brands vary, with ten analysts issuing a Buy rating while thirteen have a Hold rating; the average price target stands at $161.23.

Royal Bank of Canada lessened its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 31.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 465,398 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 215,539 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned about 0.17% of Yum! Brands worth $73,236,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 151.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 156,690 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $24,657,000 after acquiring an additional 94,355 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $270,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $939,000. First National Bank Sioux Falls bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $283,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 353,103 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $55,564,000 after acquiring an additional 6,673 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on YUM. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $164.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE YUM opened at $143.61 on Friday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $146.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $148.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 56.02%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total transaction of $1,043,352.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the sale, the director directly owned 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $179,154.90. This trade represents a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 29,016 shares of company stock valued at $4,271,543 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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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