Ascent Group LLC Buys 140 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Ascent Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,185 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $395,000. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $419,123,000 after acquiring an additional 104,328 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 87.0% during the second quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. now owns 22,362 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,962,000 after acquiring an additional 10,403 shares in the last quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 996.1% during the second quarter. MBB Public Markets I LLC now owns 20,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,689,000 after acquiring an additional 18,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daymark Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 23.8% during the second quarter. Daymark Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $523,000 after acquiring an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $139.24 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.37. The company has a market capitalization of $39.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.61 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total value of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at $21,947,485.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 1,309 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.40, for a total value of $179,856.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $169,414.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.92, for a total transaction of $974,956.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 101,629 shares of company stock worth $13,888,443 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.25.

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.