Fifth Third Bancorp Trims Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.9% in Q4, selling 12,672 shares and leaving it with 203,099 shares valued at about $30.7 million (≈0.07% of YUM).
• Yum! Brands beat Q1 estimates with $1.50 EPS vs. $1.39, revenue of $2.06 billion (up 15.2% year-over-year), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, ~1.9% yield).
• Insiders sold roughly 14,665 shares (~$2.37M) over the last quarter while institutional investors own about 82.37% of the stock and analysts have an average target of $176.06 (Moderate Buy).

Fifth Third Bancorp lowered its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 203,099 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 12,672 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp owned 0.07% of Yum! Brands worth $30,725,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 695,059 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $105,649,000 after purchasing an additional 8,888 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 347,395 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $52,804,000 after purchasing an additional 57,112 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 267,162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $40,609,000 after purchasing an additional 11,532 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 430,416 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $65,423,000 after buying an additional 10,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $24,786,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $158.17 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $159.77 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.46. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $43.68 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,365,096. The trade was a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 14,665 shares of company stock valued at $2,374,563 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and margin upside — Yum reported Q1 EPS of $1.50 (above estimates) with revenue up ~15% and a large profit jump; digital sales reached a record (~63% of system sales), supporting better-than-expected fundamentals. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell strength and improving visibility — Analysts (Morgan Stanley coverage cited) highlight Taco Bell’s continued comp strength and loyalty/digital engagement gains as drivers of near-term visibility and growth. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC global expansion and delivery gains — Management and industry write-ups point to KFC fueling international growth, helping the company’s top-line and margin mix. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst price-target moves are modestly supportive but ratings remain conservative — Citi and Wells Fargo raised price targets slightly but maintain neutral/equal-weight ratings, limiting immediate bullish catalyst strength. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider sales executed under 10b5‑1 plans — CEO Scott Mezvinsky and CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold shares (pre-arranged plans); such filings can create near-term selling pressure but are less informative about company fundamentals. Read More. Read More.
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut lagging — Coverage highlights Pizza Hut’s continued underperformance, which can blunt overall company upside and keep investors cautious until a clearer turnaround is visible. Read More.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on YUM shares. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $179.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.06.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding YUM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.