Korea Investment CORP Sells 115,970 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP trimmed its stake in Yum! Brands by 50.1%, selling 115,970 shares and leaving 115,738 shares valued at about $17.59 million after the third quarter.
• Company insiders have been selling: CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares at an average $161.44, and insiders have sold 14,138 shares worth $2.29 million over the last 90 days, leaving insiders with just 0.33% ownership.
• Yum! reported quarterly EPS of $1.73 (missing estimates by $0.03) with revenue up 6.4% to $2.52 billion, while the board raised the quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, 1.9% yield) and analysts hold a consensus "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $174.50.

Korea Investment CORP trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 50.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 115,738 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 115,970 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $17,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $673,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 179.2% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 422,401 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $64,205,000 after acquiring an additional 271,085 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 27.7% during the 3rd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,962 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $450,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Chapman Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $60,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $161.44, for a total value of $1,937,280.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.4%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $159.28 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $158.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.67.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The business had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 20th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.05%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $179.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

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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