Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Holdings Lessened by Los Angeles Capital Management LLC

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 3.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 423,005 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 13,939 shares during the quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC owned 0.15% of Yum! Brands worth $58,650,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $47,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on YUM. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded down $1.29 on Thursday, hitting $134.13. 3,170,930 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,948,321. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $138.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.70. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.53 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20. The firm has a market cap of $37.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.06 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,817,351.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock worth $4,620,080. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

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.