IMS Capital Management Sells 150 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

IMS Capital Management reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,874 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. IMS Capital Management’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $139.67 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The company has a market capitalization of $39.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $134.19 and its 200 day moving average is $135.35.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.25.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total transaction of $941,682.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 155,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,955,351.69. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction 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. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.