Swedbank AB Acquires 14,503 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Swedbank AB boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, adding 14,503 shares and bringing its total holding to 165,347 shares valued at about $25.0 million.
• Yum! Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 versus estimates of $1.39 and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year.
• Two top executives sold shares in early May under pre-arranged trading plans, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $176.22.

Swedbank AB increased its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 165,347 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 14,503 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.06% of Yum! Brands worth $25,014,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the 3rd 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. CNB Bank increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $36,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $151.83 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39. The firm has a market cap of $41.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.49, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.61. The firm's fifty day moving average is $159.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $154.88.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.76 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company's stock, valued at $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,665 shares of company stock worth $437,283. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Barclays set a $185.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.22.

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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