Fifth Third Bancorp Has $40.30 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp increased its Yum! Brands stake by 27.6% in the first quarter, ending with 259,232 shares valued at about $40.3 million. Other institutional investors also added to or adjusted positions, and institutions own 82.37% of the stock.
• Yum! Brands posted strong quarterly results, reporting EPS of $1.50 versus the $1.39 estimate and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of 6.72, and Wall Street currently has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $176.12.
• The company approved a $4.0 billion share buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equivalent to a 1.8% annualized yield. Meanwhile, insiders sold shares during the period, including CEO transactions, while insider ownership remained low at 0.14%.

Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 27.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 259,232 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 56,133 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp owned about 0.09% of Yum! Brands worth $40,305,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.9% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $86,197,000 after purchasing an additional 31,836 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $88,030,000 after buying an additional 30,075 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $1,264,000. Ethos Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $1,372,000. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,786,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

YUM opened at $163.57 on Monday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $154.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.85. The firm has a market cap of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board 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 issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the firm's 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.12.

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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