United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 12,461 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 12,461 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,992,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,186,811,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,991,573,000 after purchasing an additional 124,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $706,799,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total transaction of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares in the company, valued at $474. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $44,436.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,482.86. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,043 shares of company stock valued at $2,978,180. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Yum! Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Argus lowered their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 17th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 2.2%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $154.08 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $153.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 37.74%.

About Yum! Brands

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.