Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Purchased by Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC

Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 21.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,540 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth about $1,259,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 9.5% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,918 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $959,000 after buying an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth $202,000. Finally, Cadent Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Cadent Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,373 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,379,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at $22,596,900.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.5 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $132.61 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The firm has a market cap of $37.35 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.08. The company’s 50 day moving average is $137.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.00.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Company 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.