Pavion Blue Capital LLC Acquires New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Pavion Blue Capital acquired 36,407 Yum! Brands shares worth approximately $5.82 million, making YUM its 12th-largest portfolio holding. Institutional investors collectively own 82.37% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $174.65, despite some target reductions and hold ratings.
• Yum! Brands exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $1.62 versus $1.58 estimated, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year. The company also authorized a $4 billion share-buyback program, covering up to 9.4% of outstanding shares.

Pavion Blue Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 36,407 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $5,820,000. Yum! Brands comprises about 2.4% of Pavion Blue Capital LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $226,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth $92,000. MidFirst Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $151,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $4,186,811,000. Finally, Occidental Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $688,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "hold" rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $145.36 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The business has a 50-day moving average of $153.71 and a 200-day moving average of $156.15.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.44 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $39,972.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. This trade represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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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