Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC Makes New $3.67 Million Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Coppell Advisory Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 22,968 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $3,672,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale streamlines Yum!’s portfolio: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with potential additional proceeds of $75 million through 2030 based on performance. Including the separate Mainland China transaction, total proceeds are approximately $2.7 billion. Management can now focus more heavily on Taco Bell, KFC and other growth initiatives while transferring Pizza Hut’s turnaround requirements to its new owner. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns may support earnings per share: Yum! has an authorized $4 billion share-repurchase program, potentially reducing its share count substantially, and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.75. These actions could help offset slower restaurant traffic and reinforce the investment case for the company’s asset-light, franchise-focused model.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was conducted under a preset plan: Chief Executive Officer Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for approximately $41,176, reducing his direct ownership by about 35.7%. Because the sale was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, it provides limited evidence of a negative view of Yum!’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut leadership transition raises execution risk: Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigned as ownership changed, with Eduardo Luz reportedly serving as interim CEO. Although leadership turnover is common in private-equity acquisitions, the transition adds uncertainty around Pizza Hut’s turnaround and may be contributing to investor caution. Yum Says Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell Resigns
• Negative Sentiment: Industry demand remains a concern: Reports of weaker quick-service restaurant traffic, increased discounting and pressure on lower-income consumers could weigh on Taco Bell and KFC even after the Pizza Hut divestiture. The sale reduces diversification and does not eliminate broader consumer or margin risks facing Yum!’s remaining brands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup lifted 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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 given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% 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. Insiders sold a total of 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $151.21 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $153.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.62. The company has a market capitalization of $41.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14.

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 negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

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.