Graypoint LLC Grows Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 43.6% in the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of YUM opened at $123.43 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $123.19 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $134.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $133.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on YUM. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Bank of America cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Redburn Atlantic cut Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value 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 approximately $20,307,396.90. The trade was a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold 17,879 shares of company stock worth $2,424,167 in the last ninety days. 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.