Cantillon Capital Management LLC Increases Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Cantillon Capital Management slightly increased its Yum! Brands stake by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, bringing its holdings to 2,055,883 shares worth about $311 million.
• Other major institutional investors also added to or initiated positions in YUM, and 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutions.
• Yum! Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings and revenue, and it also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share to be paid on June 12, implying a 2.0% annual yield.

Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,055,883 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 15,649 shares during the period. Yum! Brands comprises 1.7% of Cantillon Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Cantillon Capital Management LLC owned 0.74% of Yum! Brands worth $311,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of YUM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth 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. Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $133,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at approximately $126,945,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,356,869,000 after buying an additional 684,946 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $38,664.54. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,551.62. This represents a 35.08% 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 three months, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $150.78 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.32, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $155.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.65.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum Brands is weighing an exit from Pizza Hut are boosting the stock on hopes that divesting the weaker pizza chain could sharpen execution and improve margins. Pizza Hut's future in doubt as Yum Brands weighs exit and surprise company eyes takeover
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer also argued that “a Yum free of Pizza Hut” could trade higher, reinforcing the market’s view that a possible sale would be a value-creating move for YUM. Jim Cramer Believes “A Yum Free of Pizza Hut Is a Yum That’s Going to Trade Much Higher”
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary raised Yum’s fair value estimate and cited stronger KFC and Taco Bell fundamentals, suggesting the stock may still have upside if the Pizza Hut situation is resolved favorably. How The Investment Story Is Shifting For Yum Brands (YUM) After New Targets And Pizza Hut Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum announced that COO and Chief People Officer Tracy Skeans will retire after 25 years, a leadership change that adds some succession-planning focus but is not clearly a major business setback. Yum Brands COO Tracy Skeans stepping down after 25 years with the company
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage repeated the retirement news, keeping the focus on management transition rather than a change in near-term operating results. Yum Brands COO and chief people officer to retire after 25 years with the company

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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