Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Raises Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,622 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,555 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $971,000 after purchasing an additional 311 shares during the period. KFA Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $218,000. Aberdeen Group plc increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 249,909 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $37,032,000 after purchasing an additional 11,465 shares during the period. JB Capital LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 6.8% during the 2nd quarter. JB Capital LLC now owns 1,592 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 5,703 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $845,000 after purchasing an additional 577 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total transaction of $41,962.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at $267,795.45. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total value of $296,121.40. Following the sale, the director owned 1,233 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $179,154.90. This trade represents a 62.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,078 shares of company stock worth $4,304,785. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE:YUM opened at $140.41 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.61. The company has a market capitalization of $38.97 billion, a PE ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 0.72. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.11%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. TD Cowen cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $158.00 to $156.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 5th. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $164.00 price objective (down from $167.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 5th. Piper Sandler upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $157.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada began coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 price target for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $161.48.

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.