SOL Capital Management CO Decreases Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

SOL Capital Management CO trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 39.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,510 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $100,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 154,104 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $20,675,000 after acquiring an additional 673 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $14,825,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,000. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,413 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,441,000 after purchasing an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $144.89.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Friday, reaching $130.48. 1,370,319 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,822,069. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $132.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The company had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,307,396.90. This trade represents a 4.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% 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.