Hsbc Holdings PLC Purchases 31,836 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 31,836 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Yum! Brands worth $86,197,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth 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 increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,422,000 after buying an additional 83,916 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after buying an additional 10,755 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 2nd 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 buying an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $344,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. 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! Brands is exiting Pizza Hut, a slower-growing and underperforming unit, which could simplify the business and improve margins by concentrating on higher-performing brands like KFC and Taco Bell. Yum! Brands (YUM) Sells Pizza Hut In $2.7 Billion Deal To Refocus Its Portfolio
• Positive Sentiment: Commentary from Jim Cramer highlighted Yum as a long-time favorite, noting that KFC has been solid and Taco Bell has been terrific, reinforcing the view that Yum’s core brands remain strong. Jim Cramer on Yum!: “KFC Has Been Solid. Taco Bell’s Terrific, But Pizza Has Been a Drag”
• Neutral Sentiment: Several reports noted that the Pizza Hut sale is part of a broader portfolio shift, but the transaction is still expected to close in the third quarter, so the financial impact is not immediate. Yum! Brands to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion after prolonged demand slump
• Neutral Sentiment: Some coverage suggested the stock may be near fair value after recent gains, indicating the market has already started pricing in better brand performance and the restructuring news. Yum Brands (YUM) Stock Price Looks Close To Fair Value After Recent Gains
• Negative Sentiment: The sale underscores Pizza Hut’s prolonged demand slump and weaker positioning, which is a reminder that one part of Yum’s portfolio has been a drag on overall growth. Yum Brands (YUM) Is Leaving Pizza Hut Behind. I Like This New Chapter

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $152.15 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $154.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.74. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.57.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors 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 dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer 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 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 in the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

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.