Gallacher Capital Management LLC Has $5.81 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Gallacher Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 43,874 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 257 shares during the period. Yum! Brands comprises about 3.1% of Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,812,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 24.0% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,012,969 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,022,648,000 after buying an additional 5,607,517 shares during the period. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 18,121,611 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,512,561,000 after purchasing an additional 3,470,883 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $331,831,000. Cantillon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the first quarter worth approximately $200,668,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 10.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,669,356 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,033,906,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $133.87 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $132.64 and a 200-day moving average of $135.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $115.53 and a one year high of $143.20. The company has a market cap of $37.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.96% and a negative return on equity of 18.90%. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, May 15th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 27th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 27th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 47.52%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,818.61. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 6,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.02, for a total value of $912,030.22. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 162,381 shares in the company, valued at $21,275,158.62. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Scott Catlett sold 8,234 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.79, for a total transaction of $1,134,562.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 29,159 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,017,818.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 101,685 shares of company stock valued at $13,910,094. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $153.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $145.00.

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.