Andra AP fonden Grows Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Andra AP fonden increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 26.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,947 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,347 shares during the period. Andra AP fonden’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $6,211,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its stake 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 valued at $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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 Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.60 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.56. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.79. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month 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. 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.