Meyer Handelman Co. Has $821,000 Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Meyer Handelman Co. cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,195 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $821,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norden Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $3,415,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $381,000. American National Bank lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. American National Bank now owns 23,168 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,027,000 after purchasing an additional 7,934 shares during the last quarter. Leo Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth approximately $268,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 140.9% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 66,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $8,671,000 after buying an additional 38,818 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $137.59 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $132.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.35. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $115.53 and a twelve month high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,326.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,326.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total value of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares in the company, valued at $22,596,900.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,067 shares of company stock valued at $12,468,869. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $145.00.

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.