Marks Group Wealth Management Inc Takes $1.15 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Marks Group Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 7,606 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $1,151,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $44,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands is reportedly close to selling Pizza Hut to a private equity buyer, a move that could simplify the company’s structure and allow management to focus on higher-performing brands like Taco Bell and KFC. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched “The Summer of Hut Originals,” a marketing campaign that brings back nostalgic promotions like BOOK IT!, which could support brand engagement and traffic in the near term. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Tracy Skeans, Yum’s COO and Chief People Officer, is retiring after more than 25 years with the company. Leadership turnover can create uncertainty, but the announcement appears to be a planned retirement rather than a surprise departure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted that Yum! Brands has underperformed the consumer cyclical sector and lagged some peers, even though analysts still remain moderately optimistic on the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reported that Yum! Brands stock underperformed competitors on Monday, reflecting some relative weakness versus restaurant peers. Article Title

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $151.79 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $155.09 and a 200-day moving average of $155.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly 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. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.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 previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

Yum! Brands 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.