SOL Capital Management CO Sells 4,200 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

SOL Capital Management CO cut its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 39.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,510 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 4,200 shares during the period. SOL Capital Management CO’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $873,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Diversified Trust Co boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.4% during the third quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 3,321 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $464,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.4% in the 3rd quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $186,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.5% in the third quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 3,880 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $542,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 5,902 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $792,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the third quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 4,927 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $688,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE YUM opened at $130.48 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $132.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.53. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The company has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.39, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 50.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.89.

Yum! Brands Company 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.