Camrose Capital Investment Partners LLP Buys 55,262 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Camrose Capital Investment Partners increased its Yum! Brands stake by 18.9% in the fourth quarter, buying 55,262 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 347,243 shares worth about $52.5 million.
• Yum! Brands announced a major portfolio reshaping, agreeing to sell Pizza Hut outside mainland China to LongRange Capital and its mainland China Pizza Hut business to Yum China to focus on stronger brands.
• The board also authorized a $4 billion share repurchase, a move that could return more of the deal proceeds to shareholders and support the stock.

Camrose Capital Investment Partners LLP raised its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 347,243 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 55,262 shares during the period. Yum! Brands comprises 8.7% of Camrose Capital Investment Partners LLP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest position. Camrose Capital Investment Partners LLP owned approximately 0.13% of Yum! Brands worth $52,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting 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 Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,511.84. This trade represents a 36.45% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.12.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 2.0%

NYSE:YUM opened at $157.69 on Wednesday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $154.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.74. The company has a market capitalization of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 25.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase 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 often a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid 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 (DPR) is currently 48.39%.

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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