Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Bought by KBC Group NV

KBC Group NV raised its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 12.1% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 57,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 6,214 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $8,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $706,799,000. Capital International Investors increased its position in Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $632,950,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $168,604,000. 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: Yum appointed Nai De Leon as Chief People & Culture Officer, effective November 1, signaling a leadership refresh and continued focus on culture and talent management at the company. Yum! Brands (YUM) Appoints Nai De Leon As People Chief In Leadership Shift
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell is responding to the outbreak with a $1 lettuce-free Enchirito promotion, a move aimed at winning back customers and stabilizing traffic. Taco Bell Offers $1 Lettuce-Free Enchirito to Win Back Customers Post-Parasite
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts said the Taco Bell outbreak may hurt sales in the short term, but they do not expect lasting damage to the brand, suggesting the selloff may be tied more to near-term sentiment than a structural problem. Cyclosporiasis outbreak hits Taco Bell sales, unlikely to cause lasting scar, analysts say
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Taco Bell visits plunged 19% after the outbreak highlight a meaningful traffic hit, which could pressure same-store sales and earnings expectations for Yum! Brands. Visits To Taco Bell Plummeted 19% After Cyclosporiasis Outbreak Linked To Restaurant’s Lettuce

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $147.60 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.79. The stock has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.81.

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.