Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Takes $2.06 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management opened a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter, buying 13,592 shares valued at about $2.06 million.
• Several other institutional investors also increased their stakes, and 82.37% of Yum! Brands stock is now held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Yum! Brands remains in focus after reports that it may sell Pizza Hut, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $175.89.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 13,592 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $2,056,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 17,189 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,613,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. This trade represents a 0.39% 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 90 days, insiders sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $827,837. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The reported Pizza Hut sale could streamline Yum’s portfolio and potentially improve capital allocation, which investors may view as a catalyst for the stock. Reuters: Yum Brands in exclusive talks to sell Pizza Hut to LongRange, Bloomberg News reports
• Positive Sentiment: Yum had already launched a strategic review of Pizza Hut, signaling management is considering a turnaround or exit for a brand that has faced rising costs and tough U.S. competition. Yahoo Finance/Barron’s: Pizza Hut May Have a New Owner Soon. Yum! Brands Stock Is Rising.
• Neutral Sentiment: Separately, articles noted Yum remains under pressure after its latest earnings report, with the stock down over the past month as investors reassess growth expectations following the prior quarter. Yahoo Finance: Why Is Yum (YUM) Down 6% Since Last Earnings Report?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $175.89.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $147.96 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $156.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.63. The stock has a market cap of $40.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a PEG ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its 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. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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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