Level Four Advisory Services LLC Has $470,000 Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Level Four Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,599 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 298 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $139.31 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $39.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.20. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $138.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.16.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly 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). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 EPS. Research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.92%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.53.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total value of $848,151.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,521 shares of company stock worth $4,620,263. Corporate 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.