Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 258,514 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Squarepoint Ops LLC reduced its Yum! Brands stake by 95.2%, selling 258,514 shares in the second quarter and retaining 13,067 shares worth approximately $2.1 million.
• Yum! Brands reported quarterly EPS of $1.62, exceeding estimates of $1.58, while revenue rose 12.2% year over year to $2.17 billion. The company also declared a $0.75 quarterly dividend and authorized a $4 billion share-repurchase program.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive overall, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.24, despite one downgrade to “strong sell.”

Squarepoint Ops LLC cut its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 95.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,067 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 258,514 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,089,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 15,378.9% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 70,142,092 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $11,212,915,000 after buying an additional 69,688,945 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $4,186,811,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,938,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the 2nd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $740,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317,526 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $146.65 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $40.02 billion, a PE ratio of 18.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $151.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $154.75.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.52 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Yum! Brands to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.24.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,482.86. The trade was a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the 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 directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

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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