Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Invests $861,000 in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,383 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $861,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after acquiring an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after acquiring an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $144.89 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The firm has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.57 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.09.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,831,674. The trade was a 39.96% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

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.