Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Position Lowered by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lowered its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 9.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 90,739 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 9,229 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $14,279,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $315,996,000 after acquiring an additional 94,026 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% in the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $3,306,000. Gotham Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 140,412 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $18,838,000 after acquiring an additional 49,362 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,677,290 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $225,025,000 after acquiring an additional 44,428 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,063 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.57, for a total value of $1,028,160.91. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at $22,984,484.01. This trade represents a 4.28% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.97, for a total transaction of $39,119.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $256,177.35. This trade represents a 13.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,470 shares of company stock worth $1,821,172 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.5%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $141.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $145.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.37. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.29 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.85 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 19.68% and a negative return on equity of 20.33%. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 11.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.15 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Cowen reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and issued a $158.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $158.24.

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.

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