Intech Investment Management LLC Has $2.14 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 46.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,072 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 12,260 shares during the quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Salomon & Ludwin LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Financial Gravity Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $158.97 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $157.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.38. The company has a market capitalization of $43.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.64, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.64.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.05%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Oppenheimer cut Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “positive” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $47,149.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.