Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Invests $2.08 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,979 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,075,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,422,000 after purchasing an additional 83,916 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,294,000 after buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $344,000 after buying an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 19,043 shares of company stock valued at $2,978,180. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Yum! Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Argus decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. Zacks Research cut Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. One investment 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.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM stock opened at $154.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $153.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.81. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.