Nykredit A S Takes $15.80 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S acquired 98,868 shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter, worth approximately $15.8 million. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.58, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. The company also maintains a $4 billion share-repurchase authorization and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.75.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 14 Buy ratings, six Holds and one Sell; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $174.67 versus a reported trading price of $138.03.

Nykredit A S bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 98,868 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $15,805,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% during the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 44.6% during the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 227 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $311,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.7%

NYSE:YUM opened at $138.03 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.67 billion, a PE ratio of 17.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.20 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $149.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $154.05. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $134.26 and a 12-month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.47 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Argus cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $165.00 to $175.00 in a report on Thursday, September 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.67.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total transaction of $41,175.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $74,054.48. This trade represents a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% 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. Insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Yum! Brands

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut and The Habit Burger Grill, which offer products such as fried and grilled chicken, tacos and other Mexican-inspired foods, pizza, burgers and related menu items.

The company's restaurants serve customers through a combination of company-operated locations and franchised and licensed outlets. Yum! Brands supports its restaurant concepts with brand management, franchise services, technology and digital ordering capabilities, while franchisees generally manage day-to-day restaurant operations.

Yum! Brands serves customers in numerous markets worldwide, with a significant presence in the United States and international markets across regions including Asia, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

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