Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells $963,332.23 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of YUM stock traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $135.42. 2,393,312 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,937,871. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.08. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $138.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.70.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released 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). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.06 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% in the first quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus restated a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock 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 issued a "neutral" rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Company 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.