J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Has $286,000 Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. lessened its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 110 shares during the quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $286,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 21.3% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 553 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $68,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 18.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 1,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $215,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the period. Fiduciary Alliance LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $276,000. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 47.7% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 48,976 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,119,000 after buying an additional 15,820 shares during the period. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.1% during the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 4,488 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup lowered 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. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $160.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report 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 report on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $134.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total transaction of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,817,351.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total value of $963,514.78. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,910,900.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,064 shares of company stock valued at $3,228,698. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $141.81 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $137.71 and its 200-day moving average is $130.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.53 and a fifty-two week high of $143.24.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.31 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.