Securian Asset Management Inc. Has $1.14 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 43.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,549 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 5,799 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,142,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 833.3% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,665 shares of company stock valued at $437,283 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $152.91 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.95. The firm has a market cap of $42.15 billion, a PE ratio of 24.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc (NYSE: YUM) is a global quick-service restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises a portfolio of well-known restaurant brands. The company’s principal brands are KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, each focused on distinct product categories—KFC on fried chicken and related menu items, Pizza Hut on pizza and complementary offerings, and Taco Bell on Mexican-inspired quick-service food. Yum! is headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky and was formed as Tricon Global Restaurants in 1997 when PepsiCo spun off its restaurant businesses, later adopting the Yum! Brands name.

The company’s operating model centers on brand development, system growth and franchising; a large portion of its restaurants are operated by independent franchisees, and Yum! generates revenue through franchise royalties and fees in addition to sales from company-operated locations.