Bessemer Group Inc. Has $3.08 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 24.7% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,811 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 6,844 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,082,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 78.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oliver Lagore Vanvalin Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.59, for a total transaction of $41,962.25. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $267,795.45. This represents a 13.55% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 12,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.24, for a total transaction of $1,811,492.80. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,078 shares of company stock worth $4,304,785. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $165.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Melius began coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, July 14th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $162.82.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.4%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $139.05 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.59 billion, a PE ratio of 27.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.72. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30. The company has a 50 day moving average of $146.80 and a 200-day moving average of $146.21.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.02%.

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.