Magellan Asset Management Ltd Reduces Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd cut its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,714,344 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 477,896 shares during the period. Yum! Brands makes up about 4.6% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $514,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 22,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,828,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.3% during the second quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,499 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $485,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 5,578 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 3,487 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $461,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitchell Mcleod Pugh & Williams Inc. now owns 16,710 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,207,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.17% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.02. 190,910 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,577,588. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.04. The company’s 50 day moving average is $123.45 and its 200 day moving average is $130.27. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.24.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $1.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.32% and a negative return on equity of 17.45%. The business’s revenue was up 4.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.09 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.29 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, November 28th will be given a dividend of $0.605 per share. This represents a $2.42 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $136.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 2nd. Redburn Atlantic reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, October 20th. Bank of America raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, September 20th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.21.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Mark James King sold 9,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.60, for a total transaction of $1,215,360.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at $1,039,386. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,507 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.55, for a total value of $412,247.85. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 57,325 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,738,553.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Mark James King sold 9,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.60, for a total value of $1,215,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 8,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,039,386. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,638 shares of company stock worth $2,603,751. 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 four segments: the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division. It 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.