Scott Mezvinsky Sells 268 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm’s 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 $41,044.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,971.45. The trade was a 35.69% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Wednesday, July 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34.
• On Monday, June 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $38,664.54.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.9%

YUM stock traded down $4.38 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $148.90. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,847,500 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,093,995. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $153.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The company’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 37.74%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.94.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after buying an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after acquiring an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $19,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell attributed strong digital-sales growth to its loyalty program and plans to introduce a redesigned app in the third quarter. The initiative could improve customer engagement, ordering frequency and sales recovery. Taco Bell credits its loyalty program for digital sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Fundsmith’s investment commentary highlighted Yum!’s rapid international expansion as a long-term growth driver, supporting the case for continued unit growth and geographic diversification. Yum! Brands: Rapid Global Expansion Drives Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage examined what Yum! Brands could look like without Pizza Hut, raising questions about the strategic and financial implications of a potential separation. The article does not indicate that a transaction has been announced. What does a Pizza Hut-less Yum Brands look like?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares for approximately $40,000, while CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for about $41,000. Both trades were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a discretionary bearish signal. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: The Taco Bell cyclospora outbreak has reportedly hurt sales and customer traffic, with rising concern about brand damage and the potential impact on Yum!’s financial results. Market anxiety intensified after reports linked the outbreak to additional deaths in Michigan. Sweetgreen drops as Yum falls amid cyclospora concerns

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.