Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC Cuts Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Azimuth Capital Investment Management reduced its Yum! Brands stake by 7.9% in the second quarter, selling 11,438 shares and retaining 132,530 shares valued at approximately $21.2 million.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly earnings of $1.62 per share, exceeding estimates, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. The company also authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.
• Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company, and analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $174.65, compared with a recent share price of $150.58.

Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,530 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,438 shares during the period. Azimuth Capital Investment Management LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $21,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $4,186,811,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $706,799,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $740,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317,526 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $638,589,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its stake 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 worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $150.58 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $153.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 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 business had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given 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 is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Yum! Brands to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $39,972.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% 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. Insiders sold a total of 18,780 shares of company stock worth $2,940,693 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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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