SouthState Corp Acquires 29,790 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Key Points

• SouthState Corp increased its investment in Yum! Brands by 668.7%, acquiring an additional 29,790 shares to reach a total holding of 34,245 shares valued at approximately $5.39 million.
• Yum! Brands recently announced a $0.71 quarterly dividend with a yield of 2.0%, while its securities are significantly impacted by a majority ownership of 82.37% by institutional investors.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Yum! Brands, with a consensus rating reflecting a "Hold" sentiment and an average price target of $161.23.

SouthState Corp increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 668.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,245 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 29,790 shares during the period. SouthState Corp's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,389,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, MorganRosel Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Redburn Atlantic upgraded Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $177.00 in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and issued a $167.00 price target (up from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 272 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.28, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 13.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.60, for a total value of $1,043,352.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,084,113.80. The trade was a 6.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 14,983 shares of company stock valued at $2,187,764. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:YUM traded up $0.85 on Tuesday, reaching $142.12. 1,606,719 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,086,219. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.18. The firm has a market cap of $39.44 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.20 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.02%.

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.