Insider Selling: Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $41,962.25 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total transaction of $41,962.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $267,795.45. This trade represents a 13.55% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, August 6th, Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total transaction of $36,798.96.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $150.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $147.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $147.28. The firm has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.72. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein set a $164.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 target price (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Finally, Melius started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They set a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $161.32.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st 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. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.