O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 52,103 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,402 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $7,882,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of YUM opened at $151.47 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $155.03 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.43, a PEG ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

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.