Alberta Investment Management Corp Invests $5.48 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp opened a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter, buying 36,200 shares valued at about $5.48 million.
• Institutional ownership in Yum! remains high at 82.37%, with other major investors like Vanguard, Capital International, and State Street also increasing their stakes.
• Analysts are broadly constructive on the stock, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.12; recent news also highlighted a $4 billion share repurchase authorization and the planned sale of Pizza Hut businesses.

Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 36,200 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,476,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,356,869,000 after purchasing an additional 684,946 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after buying an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,991,573,000 after acquiring an additional 124,720 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position 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 worth $1,334,427,000 after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $706,799,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.12.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands agreed to sell Pizza Hut outside mainland China to LongRange Capital and Pizza Hut’s mainland China business to Yum China, simplifying the portfolio and sharpening the company’s focus on stronger brands. Reuters article
• Positive Sentiment: The board approved an additional $4 billion share repurchase authorization, signaling management expects to return a meaningful portion of the sale proceeds to shareholders. RTTNews article
• Positive Sentiment: The transaction could improve Yum’s growth profile and margins by exiting a struggling chain that has been losing market share and weighing on earnings. CNBC article
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands also showcased a broader refresh at KFC, including new menu items, drinks, branding, and store concepts, which supports the long-term strategy but is not an immediate earnings catalyst. Fox Business article
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reaffirmed a Buy rating and raised its price target to $180, reinforcing a constructive analyst view on the stock. Benzinga article

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $38,664.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $71,551.62. The trade was a 35.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 2.0%

YUM opened at $157.69 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The business's 50-day moving average price is $154.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.74. The company has a market cap of $43.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is 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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