Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Acquired by Allstate Corp

Key Points

• Allstate Corp more than doubled its stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter, increasing holdings by 107.8% to 19,892 shares valued at about $3.0 million.
• Yum! Brands reported better-than-expected Q1 earnings of $1.50 per share on revenue of $2.06 billion, topping analyst estimates and reflecting 15.2% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, implying a 2.0% annualized yield, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Moderate Buy with a $175.89 price target.

Allstate Corp grew its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 107.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,892 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 10,318 shares during the period. Allstate Corp's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,009,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $22,422,000 after purchasing an additional 83,916 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $17,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $19,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,511.84. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 5,364 shares of company stock worth $827,837 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of YUM opened at $151.90 on Thursday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $156.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.68. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $169.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on YUM. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays set a $185.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $175.89.

About Yum! Brands

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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