Keybank National Association OH Sells 3,218 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Keybank National Association OH lessened its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 16.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 16,520 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 3,218 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.12.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $164.20 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $153.86 and its 200 day moving average is $156.45. The company has a market cap of $45.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.