AMF Tjanstepension AB Purchases New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• AMF Tjanstepension AB opened a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter, buying 166,359 shares worth about $25.2 million.
• Yum! Brands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 beating estimates and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, implying a 2.0% annual yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $176.22.

AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 166,359 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $25,167,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB owned approximately 0.06% of Yum! Brands as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. 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 report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup increased 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. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.22.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $152.19 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.16. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $41.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $47,149.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% 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 quarter, insiders sold 2,890 shares of company stock worth $451,123. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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