Strategic Global Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 46,003 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Strategic Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 46,003 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,959,000. Yum! Brands accounts for about 1.1% of Strategic Global Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 6,180 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $935,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $154.23 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $154.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.70. The company has a market cap of $42.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced 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. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on YUM. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were 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 $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently 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.