Kovack Advisors Inc. Acquires 101 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Kovack Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the quarter. Kovack Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $596,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM traded down $0.51 on Thursday, hitting $129.52. The company had a trading volume of 935,807 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,605. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.53 and a 12-month high of $143.20. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $135.10. The company has a market capitalization of $36.48 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 1.07.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.64% and a net margin of 22.92%. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.06 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 47.52%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on YUM. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $132.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.33.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 165,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,061 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.43, for a total transaction of $963,332.23. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 165,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,596,900.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,080. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands 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.