Ninety One UK Ltd Has $22.72 Million Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Ninety One UK Ltd increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 50.0% in Q4 and now owns 150,154 shares worth about $22.72 million (roughly 0.05% of the company).
• Wall Street sentiment is cautiously positive with an average rating of "Moderate Buy", an average price target of $174.50, and 12 analysts at Buy versus 9 at Hold.
• Company insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 14,138 shares worth about $2.29 million over the past three months (insiders now own ~0.33% of the stock).

Ninety One UK Ltd grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 50.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 150,154 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 50,061 shares during the quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd owned approximately 0.05% of Yum! Brands worth $22,715,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC grew its position 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 acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares during the period. Finally, CNB Bank increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on YUM. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "overweight" rating and set a $179.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $171.00 to $174.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and set a $171.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday. Gordon Haskett raised Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a "positive" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 1,612 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.63, for a total value of $265,383.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $40,176.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,297 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,840,607.94. This represents a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 14,138 shares of company stock valued at $2,289,990 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $162.66 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 0.66. The business's 50-day moving average is $160.07 and its 200-day moving average is $153.77. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 54.05%.

Yum! Brands Company 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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