Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Capital World Investors cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 623,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 89,356 shares during the period. Capital World Investors’ holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $94,339,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $44,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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 Up 3.0%

NYSE:YUM 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’s fifty day moving average is $155.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen decreased their price target on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve investment 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

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.