Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank increased its Yum! Brands stake by 7.2% in the first quarter, holding 814,900 shares valued at about $126.7 million. Institutional investors remain heavily involved, owning 82.37% of the company.
• Insiders sold shares over the past 90 days, including CEO Christopher Lee Turner and COO Tracy L. Skeans, with total insider sales amounting to 12,423 shares worth about $1.95 million.
• Yum! Brands is facing some near-term pressure from Taco Bell traffic declines tied to a lettuce-related outbreak, even as it launched a Pizza Hut value menu and the board approved a $4 billion stock buyback and a quarterly dividend.

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 814,900 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 54,400 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.30% of Yum! Brands worth $126,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands said a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, which could help ease some fears that the outbreak source had been confirmed. Market Chatter: Yum! Brands Says Positive Cyclospora Test on Taylor Farms Lettuce was False Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a throwback value menu with $3 Personal Pan Pizzas, which could support traffic and help offset some of the negative Taco Bell news. Pizza Hut Launches Throwback Value Menu With $3 Personal Pan Pizzas
• Neutral Sentiment: ThaiBev is considering selling its large KFC franchise business in Thailand, but this appears to be a third-party asset sale rather than a direct operating change for Yum! Brands. ThaiBev Weighs Sale of Thailand's Largest KFC Franchise With 500+ Restaurants
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and traders are watching Yum! Brands’ chart closely as it approaches a possible “death cross,” a bearish technical signal that can add downward pressure on the stock. QUICK SPARK: Yum! Brands May Soon Serve Traders a Death Cross
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell visits fell sharply, with reports of traffic dropping nearly 19% after health authorities linked lettuce from a supplier to a parasite outbreak, raising concerns about near-term sales and brand damage. Taco Bell Traffic Sinks After Lettuce Tied to Parasite Outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Yum shares were reported to be sliding as Taco Bell traffic dropped nearly 19%, reinforcing concerns that the outbreak is weighing on restaurant-sector sentiment and Yum!’s same-store sales outlook. Yum Shares Slide 10% as Taco Bell Traffic Drops Nearly 19%

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Citigroup increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Evercore reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $147.35 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $170.14. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $156.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.77, a P/E/G ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. Yum! Brands's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

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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