Alyeska Investment Group L.P. Has $96.24 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Alyeska Investment Group cut its Yum! Brands stake by 64.1% in the second quarter, selling 1.07 million shares and retaining 602,050 shares worth approximately $96.24 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, beating estimates by $0.04, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. The company also authorized a $4 billion share repurchase plan and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $174.65 versus the stock’s reported price of $154.08; ratings include 12 Buys, seven Holds, one Sell and one Strong Buy.

Alyeska Investment Group L.P. cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 64.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 602,050 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 1,073,429 shares during the quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. owned about 0.22% of Yum! Brands worth $96,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% in 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 during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,991,573,000 after buying an additional 124,720 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,334,427,000 after buying an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $706,799,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 19,043 shares of company stock valued at $2,978,180. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "hold" rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. 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. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Argus reduced their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $154.08 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The stock has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $153.48 and a 200-day moving average of $155.81.

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

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.74%.

About Yum! Brands

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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