Lbp Am Sa Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Lbp Am Sa cut its stake in Yum! Brands by 49.2%, leaving it with 11,639 shares valued at about $1.76 million at the end of the quarter.
• Insiders have been net sellers — they sold 14,138 shares worth roughly $2.29 million over the last 90 days, including a 12,000‑share sale by Aaron Powell and a 242‑share sale by Christopher Lee Turner.
• Analysts have a consensus of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $174.50; Yum! reported EPS $1.73 (missed by $0.03) and revenue of $2.52 billion, and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, ~1.8% yield).

Lbp Am Sa reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 49.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,639 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 11,262 shares during the quarter. Lbp Am Sa's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,761,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 679.2% in the third quarter. Salomon & Ludwin LLC now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $40,176.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,840,607.94. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 12,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 14,650 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,365,096. This trade represents a 45.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $171.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $171.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.50.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $162.66 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39. The stock's 50 day moving average is $160.07 and its 200-day moving average is $153.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 22.42% and a net margin of 18.98%.The company had revenue of $2.52 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.61 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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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