Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC Invests $2.02 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 12,648 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,022,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 23.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 30,580 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,889,000 after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board grew its position in Yum! Brands by 9.5% during the 2nd quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 13,772 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,202,000 after purchasing an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.1% during the 2nd quarter. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,327,000 after buying an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 37,033 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,920,000 after buying an additional 1,230 shares during the period. Finally, Field & Main Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $96,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale streamlines the portfolio: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with an additional potential $75 million earn-out through 2030. The divestiture gives management more resources to focus on Taco Bell, KFC and other higher-growth businesses. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell expands in the UAE: Yum! Brands’ franchise partner Americana Restaurants signed an agreement to launch Taco Bell in the United Arab Emirates. The move expands the brand’s international footprint and could provide a long-term source of unit and royalty growth. Americana Restaurants signs deal to launch Taco Bell in UAE
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was planned: CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares worth approximately $41,176, reducing his holdings by 35.7%. Because the transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, it is less likely to represent a discretionary negative view of YUM’s valuation or outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Investors remain cautious about Pizza Hut’s turnaround: The divestiture removes a slower-growing or challenged brand from Yum!’s consolidated portfolio, but it also reduces revenue diversification. Pizza Hut will now pursue its turnaround under private-equity ownership, while reports that Eduardo Luz is serving as interim CEO add uncertainty around the transition. The broader transaction, including the separate Mainland China deal, totals approximately $2.7 billion. Yum has sold Pizza Hut for $1.5B

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on YUM. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.8%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $152.08 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $153.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.70. 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 $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm 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 firm earned $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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.74%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $39,972.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares in the company, valued at $9,766,528.65. This represents a 0.41% 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. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.