Christopher Lee Turner Sells 250 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,359,304.96. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher Lee Turner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, February 26th, Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $40,176.84.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.9%

YUM stock opened at $158.17 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.07 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $159.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Steph & Co. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.06.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and margin upside — Yum reported Q1 EPS of $1.50 (above estimates) with revenue up ~15% and a large profit jump; digital sales reached a record (~63% of system sales), supporting better-than-expected fundamentals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell strength and improving visibility — Analysts (Morgan Stanley coverage cited) highlight Taco Bell’s continued comp strength and loyalty/digital engagement gains as drivers of near-term visibility and growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC global expansion and delivery gains — Management and industry write-ups point to KFC fueling international growth, helping the company’s top-line and margin mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target moves are modestly supportive but ratings remain conservative — Citi and Wells Fargo raised price targets slightly but maintain neutral/equal-weight ratings, limiting immediate bullish catalyst strength. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales executed under 10b5‑1 plans — CEO Scott Mezvinsky and CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold shares (pre-arranged plans); such filings can create near-term selling pressure but are less informative about company fundamentals. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut lagging — Coverage highlights Pizza Hut’s continued underperformance, which can blunt overall company upside and keep investors cautious until a clearer turnaround is visible. Read More.

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.