Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 7,887 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 677 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total transaction of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 9,919 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.63, for a total value of $1,285,799.97. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 18,661 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,419,025.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $134.00 to $132.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Yum! Brands from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.53.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $134.34 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $37.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.07. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $138.17 and its 200 day moving average is $131.69. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.06 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.67 EPS for the current year.

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.