Victory Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Victory Capital Management raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.6% to 300,012 shares (about $45.6M), while other large institutions — including Norges Bank, Invesco, Amundi and Vanguard — also materially increased holdings, leaving institutional ownership at roughly 82.37%.
• Analysts are broadly positive with a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $174.50, as multiple firms (JPMorgan, Barclays, UBS, Guggenheim) recently reiterated overweight/buy views.
• Yum! slightly missed EPS expectations ($1.73 vs. $1.76) but beat revenue estimates with revenue up 6.4% year-over-year, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, ~1.9% yield).

Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 300,012 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 7,560 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.11% of Yum! Brands worth $45,602,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $602,551,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 34.3% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,789,728 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $413,382,000 after acquiring an additional 713,167 shares during the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 115.8% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 1,311,849 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $197,013,000 after acquiring an additional 703,891 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $5,356,869,000 after acquiring an additional 684,946 shares during the period. Finally, Magellan Asset Management Ltd raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 35.9% in the 2nd quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd now owns 2,306,932 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $341,841,000 after acquiring an additional 609,223 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed a "positive" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Barclays set a $185.00 price target on Yum! Brands and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Finally, UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $47,149.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 242 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total value of $40,176.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 65,297 shares in the company, valued at $10,840,607.94. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 14,138 shares of company stock worth $2,289,990 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $160.12 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $169.39. The company has a market capitalization of $44.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $157.96 and a 200 day moving average of $151.49.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The restaurant operator reported $1.73 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by ($0.03). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.98% and a negative return on equity of 22.42%. The firm had revenue of $2.52 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Friday, February 20th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 54.05%.

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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