Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Bought by Capital International Sarl

Capital International Sarl grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 70.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 137,133 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 56,786 shares during the quarter. Capital International Sarl's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $20,745,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted 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 lifted 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 lifted 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 stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.1% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $150.78 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $155.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.60. The stock has a market cap of $41.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on YUM. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Guggenheim restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $176.17.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were 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 directly owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% 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. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Yum! Brands this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum Brands is weighing an exit from Pizza Hut are boosting the stock on hopes that divesting the weaker pizza chain could sharpen execution and improve margins. Pizza Hut's future in doubt as Yum Brands weighs exit and surprise company eyes takeover
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer also argued that “a Yum free of Pizza Hut” could trade higher, reinforcing the market’s view that a possible sale would be a value-creating move for YUM. Jim Cramer Believes “A Yum Free of Pizza Hut Is a Yum That’s Going to Trade Much Higher”
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary raised Yum’s fair value estimate and cited stronger KFC and Taco Bell fundamentals, suggesting the stock may still have upside if the Pizza Hut situation is resolved favorably. How The Investment Story Is Shifting For Yum Brands (YUM) After New Targets And Pizza Hut Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum announced that COO and Chief People Officer Tracy Skeans will retire after 25 years, a leadership change that adds some succession-planning focus but is not clearly a major business setback. Yum Brands COO Tracy Skeans stepping down after 25 years with the company
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage repeated the retirement news, keeping the focus on management transition rather than a change in near-term operating results. Yum Brands COO and chief people officer to retire after 25 years with the company

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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