Insider Selling: Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Sells 284 Shares of Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $47,149.68. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 13th, Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56.
• On Monday, December 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 276 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.17, for a total transaction of $42,274.92.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $165.61. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 525,417 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,227. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 29.85, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $156.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.73.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% during the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $160.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, November 17th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.50.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.