Weaver Consulting Group Lowers Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Weaver Consulting Group cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 7.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,786 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 237 shares during the quarter. Weaver Consulting Group’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $386,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.15 on Friday, reaching $132.46. 5,818,971 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,881,942. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $137.51 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.03. The company has a market cap of $37.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $115.53 and a 1-year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total transaction of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.