Magellan Asset Management Ltd Increases Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 35.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,306,932 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 609,223 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands makes up 3.9% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $341,841,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 1,277 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $189,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.7% during the second quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 1,915 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.3% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,048 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $165,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PGIM Custom Harvest LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. PGIM Custom Harvest LLC now owns 1,857 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $292,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $148.84 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $146.49 and its 200-day moving average is $146.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.08 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.37 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 55.36%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Sanford C. Bernstein lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $165.00 to $180.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Melius began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $166.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total transaction of $1,811,492.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,176 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.80, for a total transaction of $1,074,964.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 102,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,413,371.40. This represents a 6.52% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 32,112 shares of company stock worth $4,760,814 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Yum! Brands

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.