Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.1%, now holding 428,790 shares valued at approximately $67.44 million, representing 0.15% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported $1.44 EPS for its most recent quarter, missing estimates, with a 9.6% revenue increase year-over-year, totaling $1.93 billion.
• Institutional ownership of Yum! Brands stands at 82.37%, with analysts providing a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $161.23.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 2.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 428,790 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 9,058 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.15% of Yum! Brands worth $67,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 227 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Redburn Atlantic raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $177.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 10th. Oppenheimer reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Melius initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, July 14th. They set a "buy" rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Thirteen 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM traded up $1.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.19. 2,604,273 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,118,243. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.73. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $145.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.53. 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 issued 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 net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 1,233 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $179,154.90. This represents a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the 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 approximately $245,559.60. This trade represents a 13.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 9,958 shares of company stock worth $1,455,725 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.