Cetera Investment Advisers Acquires 12,033 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its Yum! Brands stake by 16.1% in the first quarter, acquiring 12,033 additional shares and ending the period with 86,617 shares valued at $13.47 million. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly results above expectations, with EPS of $1.50 and revenue of $2.06 billion; revenue rose 15.2% year over year. The company also authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase plan covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares.
• YUM shares opened at $152.20, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $174.81. Yum! also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.75, equivalent to a 2.0% annual yield.

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,617 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 12,033 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Steph & Co. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $152.20 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $153.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.73. The company has a market cap of $41.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share 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 buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.81.

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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