MUFG Securities EMEA plc Has $1.72 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 114.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,391 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,079 shares during the quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 17,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,613,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 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 transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% 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 three months, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands announced a leadership transition in its COO role, with Tracy Skeans set to retire after more than 25 years and remain as an advisor through year-end. The orderly transition may reassure investors that the company is managing succession smoothly. Yum! Brands Announces Retirement of Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” story, potentially allowing the company to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin brands like KFC and Taco Bell and use proceeds to reduce debt. Yum Brands in talks to sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm: report
• Neutral Sentiment: KFC announced a Supergirl-themed summer promotion with limited-edition meals, sauces, and collectibles. This could support near-term traffic, but it is too early to tell whether the campaign will materially move results. Supergirl Summer Takes Off at KFC® with New Supergirl Ultimate Meal, Character-Inspired Sauce Showdowns and Must-Have Limited-Edition Collectibles
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer included Yum! Brands among stocks he likes for diversification outside the AI trade, which may help keep YUM on investors’ radar but does not change fundamentals by itself. Jim Cramer says look to buy these 5 stocks outside the AI trade for diversification
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider filings showed CEO stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. While routine, insider selling can still add pressure on sentiment when the stock is already under review. SEC Form 4 filing

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.6%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $146.57 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $156.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.66. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The stock has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

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.