Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Invests $295,000 in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 2,126 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 6,065 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $792,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 1,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $237,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $208,000. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $157,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,073 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.14, for a total value of $969,991.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,160,066.06. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total transaction of $912,030.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,275,158.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,089 shares of company stock valued at $3,693,505. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.5 %

YUM stock traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $135.18. 2,301,459 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,853,013. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20. The stock has a market cap of $38.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.89 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.99.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced 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). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.06 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $148.00 to $143.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.