CIBC Asset Management Inc Has $22.09 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 23.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 146,138 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 27,461 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc owned approximately 0.05% of Yum! Brands worth $22,094,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. AXQ Capital LP acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $545,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 104,727 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $15,843,000 after purchasing an additional 3,299 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. MUFG Securities EMEA plc raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 114.4% during the fourth quarter. MUFG Securities EMEA plc now owns 11,391 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,723,000 after buying an additional 6,079 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Texas Yale Capital Corp. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.5% during the fourth quarter. Texas Yale Capital Corp. now owns 2,314 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $350,000 after buying an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective 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 lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 directly owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 valued at $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” narrative, potentially improving valuation by letting Yum focus on its stronger brands and use proceeds to strengthen the balance sheet. Pizza Hut Sale: Yum Brands In Talks With LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s push to use AI and data science to forecast customer cravings across Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill highlights efforts to improve menu innovation and long-term growth. Exclusive: Inside Yum's effort to predict what customers will crave next
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands COO Tracy Skeans announced plans to retire after 25 years, but the company says she will stay on as an advisor through year-end, suggesting an orderly transition. Yum Brands COO to retire after 25 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands also drew attention after a strong trading session and continued analyst support following its recent earnings beat, which showed better-than-expected EPS and revenue growth. Yum! Brands Inc. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott Mezvinsky’s recent insider share sale under a pre-arranged trading plan may weigh slightly on sentiment, even though the transaction was routine. Yum! Brands Keeps Growing. Why the Stock Price Will Follow.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:YUM opened at $148.03 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $169.39. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $155.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $155.63.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Yum! Brands 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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