Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Sells 152,675 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,529,258 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 152,675 shares during the period. Yum! Brands makes up 0.9% of Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.54% of Yum! Brands worth $202,566,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. 9258 Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $272,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $207,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its position in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 115,700 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $15,117,000 after purchasing an additional 1,677 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction of $912,030.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total transaction of $9,745,355.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,326.88. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 101,629 shares of company stock worth $13,888,443. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $129.71 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $133.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.53. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 47.52%.

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.