Horizon Investments LLC Has $4.52 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 28.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 29,867 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,605 shares during the quarter. Horizon Investments LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,518,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Danske Bank A S raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Danske Bank A S now owns 128,538 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,445,000 after purchasing an additional 9,700 shares during the last quarter. EQ Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 18,093 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 3,847 shares during the last quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Secured Retirement Advisors LLC now owns 11,135 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,685,000 after purchasing an additional 710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cullinan Associates Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Cullinan Associates Inc. now owns 32,395 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $4,901,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Yum! Brands News

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.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $158.17 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $169.39. The stock has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.61. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $159.77 and a 200-day moving average of $154.63.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,365,096. This represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total transaction of $265,383.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,665 shares of company stock worth $2,374,563. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on YUM. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.06.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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.