Intech Investment Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 25.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,522 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 10,591 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,043,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.9% in the second quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 2,049 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.9% in the second quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 4,169 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $552,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 1.6% during the first quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 5,312 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $737,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Marcum Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.4% during the second quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 2,477 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $328,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.25.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $129.71 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $115.53 and a 52-week high of $143.20. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $135.53.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 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 given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,947,485.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at $9,326.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,069 shares of the company’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 value of $974,956.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,132 shares in the company, valued at $21,947,485.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 101,629 shares of company stock valued at $13,888,443. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Yum! Brands

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.