26,190,487 Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Acquired by BlackRock Inc.

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 26.19 million Yum! Brands shares worth approximately $4.19 billion, giving it a 9.5% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with 12 Buy ratings and seven Holds producing a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $174.65.
• Yum! Brands exceeded quarterly EPS expectations and reported 12.2% year-over-year revenue growth. Its board also authorized a $4 billion share repurchase program, covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares.

BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 26,190,487 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. BlackRock Inc. owned about 9.50% of Yum! Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUM. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,991,573,000 after purchasing an additional 124,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,334,427,000 after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,471,127 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $676,392,000 after acquiring an additional 104,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Get Yum! Brands SMS alerts:

Sign Up

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the 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 $39,972.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,766,528.65. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the company'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 value of $41,044.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,971.45. The trade was a 35.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $144.89 on Wednesday. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $153.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $156.09. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The firm has a market cap of $39.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.22, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding YUM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source