Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 31,836 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $86,197,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,030,000 after purchasing an additional 30,075 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $1,264,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at $24,786,000. Ethos Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $1,372,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 89.8% in the 4th quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 20,098 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,040,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands is exiting Pizza Hut, a slower-growing and underperforming unit, which could simplify the business and improve margins by concentrating on higher-performing brands like KFC and Taco Bell. Yum! Brands (YUM) Sells Pizza Hut In $2.7 Billion Deal To Refocus Its Portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer highlighted Yum as a long-time favorite, noting that KFC has been solid and Taco Bell has been terrific, reinforcing the view that Yum’s core brands remain strong. Jim Cramer on Yum!: “KFC Has Been Solid. Taco Bell’s Terrific, But Pizza Has Been a Drag”
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that the Pizza Hut sale is part of a broader portfolio shift, but the transaction is still expected to close in the third quarter, so the financial impact is not immediate. Yum! Brands to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion after prolonged demand slump
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested the stock may be near fair value after recent gains, indicating the market has already started pricing in better brand performance and the restructuring news. Yum Brands (YUM) Stock Price Looks Close To Fair Value After Recent Gains
• Negative Sentiment: The sale underscores Pizza Hut’s prolonged demand slump and weaker positioning, which is a reminder that one part of Yum’s portfolio has been a drag on overall growth. Yum Brands (YUM) Is Leaving Pizza Hut Behind. I Like This New Chapter

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $152.15 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $38,664.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,551.62. This trade represents a 35.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.