Appleton Partners Inc. MA Reduces Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Appleton Partners Inc. MA trimmed its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 220 shares during the quarter. Appleton Partners Inc. MA’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $577,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 15th. The stock was 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 Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total value of $41,962.25. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,795.45. The trade was a 13.55% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,195 shares of company stock worth $5,348,137. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.79 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $147.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $147.08. The firm has a market cap of $41.30 billion, a PE ratio of 29.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 56.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $167.00 price objective (up previously from $165.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, August 4th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down previously from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.32.

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.