Bank of New York Mellon Corp Acquires New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 1,747,978 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $279,432,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.63% of Yum! Brands as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands outlined a renewed consumer-growth strategy centered on strengthening brand engagement, digital capabilities, loyalty programs and operational execution across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The emphasis on personalized customer experiences and technology could support sales and franchisee performance. Yum! Brands Reveals New Path for Consumer Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies to its board, effective August 26. His experience managing global consumer brands and improving operations may add expertise as Yum! pursues growth and evaluates its portfolio. Yum! Brands Appoints Steve Bratspies to Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Pizza Hut is using a football-themed branding promotion ahead of the NFL season. The marketing effort could increase near-term visibility, but it comes as Yum! advances the multibillion-dollar sale of the chain, making the strategic implications more important than the promotion itself. Pizza Hut Branding Change
• Negative Sentiment: Shares faced pressure after Yum! announced a new chief executive officer. Although a leadership change could bring fresh momentum, investors may be concerned about execution risk and the direction of the company during the transition. Yum! Brands Slides on Naming New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: An insider reportedly reduced a Yum! Brands equity stake by 28%, while executive share withholding related to restricted-stock-unit vesting was also disclosed. These transactions are not necessarily signals of deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment. Yum! Brands Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and reputational uncertainty to the stock. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $153.31 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $153.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.98. The company has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a stock 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company's board 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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