The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 4,041 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 163,300 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,041 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of Yum! Brands worth $25,697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 34,109,219 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $5,367,427,000 after purchasing an additional 483,918 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,045,475 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $274,421,000 after acquiring an additional 258,369 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,954,145 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $307,504,000 after acquiring an additional 27,355 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 28.5% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,940,044 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $305,286,000 after acquiring an additional 430,511 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,700,298 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $267,559,000 after purchasing an additional 23,008 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $146.89 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $146.92 and its 200-day moving average is $148.17. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The company has a market capitalization of $40.77 billion, a PE ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 56.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Melius began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 target price (up from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $245,559.60. This trade represents a 13.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,106 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.84, for a total value of $1,043,445.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 102,893 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,108,808.12. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,284 shares of company stock valued at $4,310,663 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.