Cibc World Market Inc. Purchases New Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Cibc World Market Inc. acquired 22,192 shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter, valued at approximately $3.55 million. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, beating estimates of $1.58, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. The company also authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program, allowing buybacks of up to 9.4% of shares.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $174.65, compared with the stock’s reported price of $154.74. Recent insider activity was predominantly selling, including sales by two CEOs under pre-arranged trading plans.

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 22,192 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $3,548,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in YUM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $4,186,811,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $706,799,000. Capital International Investors increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,794,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $279,432,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $154.74 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $153.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.91.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Zacks Research downgraded Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research report on Monday. Citigroup raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $41,044.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $73,971.45. The trade was a 35.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 19,043 shares of company stock worth $2,978,180 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird upgraded YUM to “strong buy,” providing a bullish counterpoint to other recent rating changes. Analyst ratings and beef tariff article
• Positive Sentiment: A temporary 90-day waiver on beef import tariffs could reduce input costs for fast-food operators, potentially benefiting Yum!’s KFC and Taco Bell businesses, although the impact may be limited and temporary. Beef tariff waiver article
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a football-season marketing campaign with Pepsi and Josh Allen, alongside promotional meal deals, which could support near-term customer traffic and sales. Pizza Hut football campaign

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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