TD Asset Management Inc Sells 27,062 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

TD Asset Management Inc cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,725,699 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 27,062 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $262,306,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the third quarter. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC now owns 3,197 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.8% in the third quarter. Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. now owns 4,085 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $621,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Spirepoint Private Client LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 1,424 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,468 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $375,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.4%

YUM stock opened at $165.80 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $156.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $150.63. The stock has a market cap of $45.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.66. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,888 shares of company stock worth $2,244,938. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.