98,311 Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Acquired by SEB Asset Management AB

Key Points

• SEB Asset Management AB bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the first quarter, acquiring 98,311 shares valued at about $15.3 million.
• Wall Street sentiment is mixed but generally positive: the stock carries a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $174.81, and several firms recently raised or reiterated bullish ratings.
• Yum! Brands announced a $4 billion share buyback and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

SEB Asset Management AB purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 98,311 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $15,285,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,416,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands said a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, which could help ease some fears that the outbreak source had been confirmed. Market Chatter: Yum! Brands Says Positive Cyclospora Test on Taylor Farms Lettuce was False Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a throwback value menu with $3 Personal Pan Pizzas, which could support traffic and help offset some of the negative Taco Bell news. Pizza Hut Launches Throwback Value Menu With $3 Personal Pan Pizzas
• Neutral Sentiment: ThaiBev is considering selling its large KFC franchise business in Thailand, but this appears to be a third-party asset sale rather than a direct operating change for Yum! Brands. ThaiBev Weighs Sale of Thailand's Largest KFC Franchise With 500+ Restaurants
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and traders are watching Yum! Brands’ chart closely as it approaches a possible “death cross,” a bearish technical signal that can add downward pressure on the stock. QUICK SPARK: Yum! Brands May Soon Serve Traders a Death Cross
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell visits fell sharply, with reports of traffic dropping nearly 19% after health authorities linked lettuce from a supplier to a parasite outbreak, raising concerns about near-term sales and brand damage. Taco Bell Traffic Sinks After Lettuce Tied to Parasite Outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Yum shares were reported to be sliding as Taco Bell traffic dropped nearly 19%, reinforcing concerns that the outbreak is weighing on restaurant-sector sentiment and Yum!’s same-store sales outlook. Yum Shares Slide 10% as Taco Bell Traffic Drops Nearly 19%

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $147.35 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $170.14. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.77, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $154.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.85.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership 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.

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