Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. Buys Shares of 31,822 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Daiichi Life Insurance Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 31,822 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $5,087,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Commerce Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $11,453,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $4,889,000. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $3,213,000. Evolve Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $1,126,000. Finally, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth about $12,270,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. 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. Insiders sold a total of 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 in the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands outlined a renewed consumer-growth strategy centered on strengthening brand engagement, digital capabilities, loyalty programs and operational execution across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The emphasis on personalized customer experiences and technology could support sales and franchisee performance. Yum! Brands Reveals New Path for Consumer Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies to its board, effective August 26. His experience managing global consumer brands and improving operations may add expertise as Yum! pursues growth and evaluates its portfolio. Yum! Brands Appoints Steve Bratspies to Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Pizza Hut is using a football-themed branding promotion ahead of the NFL season. The marketing effort could increase near-term visibility, but it comes as Yum! advances the multibillion-dollar sale of the chain, making the strategic implications more important than the promotion itself. Pizza Hut Branding Change
• Negative Sentiment: Shares faced pressure after Yum! announced a new chief executive officer. Although a leadership change could bring fresh momentum, investors may be concerned about execution risk and the direction of the company during the transition. Yum! Brands Slides on Naming New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: An insider reportedly reduced a Yum! Brands equity stake by 28%, while executive share withholding related to restricted-stock-unit vesting was also disclosed. These transactions are not necessarily signals of deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment. Yum! Brands Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and reputational uncertainty to the stock. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.6%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $153.31 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.98. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14. The stock has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

About Yum! Brands

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.