Strategic Global Advisors LLC Takes Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Strategic Global Advisors LLC initiated a new stake in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter, buying 46,003 shares valued at about $6.96 million. The position makes Yum! about 1.1% of the firm’s holdings.
• Yum! Brands reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 beating estimates and revenue of $2.06 billion slightly ahead of expectations. Revenue also grew 15.2% year over year.
• The company pays a quarterly dividend of $0.75, or $3.00 annually, for a yield of about 1.9%. Analysts remain generally positive, with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $176.12.

Strategic Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 46,003 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $6,959,000. Yum! Brands accounts for about 1.1% of Strategic Global Advisors LLC's holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 43,785 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,624,000 after buying an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Seven Mile Advisory bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at $292,000. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 13.9% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 42,860 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $6,484,000 after buying an additional 5,233 shares during the period. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 77.8% during the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,999 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $941,000 after buying an additional 2,625 shares during the period. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 136.9% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 70,122 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $10,609,000 after buying an additional 40,516 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $154.23 on Monday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.88, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.57. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $154.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.70.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on YUM. Citigroup increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.12.

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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