Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 71,706 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $10,848,000.
Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Analyst Ratings Changes
Several research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve equities research 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 currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.12.
Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands
In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.
Key Yum! Brands News
Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:
- Positive Sentiment: The Pizza Hut divestiture should streamline Yum! Brands and allow management to concentrate on KFC and Taco Bell, which are seen as the company’s main growth drivers. Yum! Brands set to sell Pizza Hut business
- Positive Sentiment: The company also approved a $4 billion share repurchase authorization, which could support earnings per share and signals confidence in the stock’s value. Yum! Brands To Sell Pizza Hut In $2.7 Bln Deal, Plans $4 Bln Buyback; Shares Up
- Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on the move: some say it removes a long-running overhang, while others argue valuation still limits near-term upside. Hold Rating Maintained on Yum! Brands as Pizza Hut Divestiture Clears Overhang but Valuation Caps Near-Term Upside
- Negative Sentiment: The sale also underscores Pizza Hut’s weak performance, with slower demand and tougher competition making the brand a drag on the broader portfolio. Yum Brands to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion
Yum! Brands Stock Performance
Shares of YUM stock opened at $154.03 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $154.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39.
Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM – Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.
Yum! Brands Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.
Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership 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.
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