Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Purchased by Banque Cantonale Vaudoise

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its Yum! Brands stake by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, bringing its position to 33,843 shares valued at about $5.1 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.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, and analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $176.22.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 40.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,843 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 9,788 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 81.7% in the third quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 833.3% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 224 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders backed Yum! Brands’ board and current governance structure at the annual meeting, reducing near-term governance uncertainty and signaling investor support for management. Yum! Brands Shareholders Back Board, Governance Structure
• Positive Sentiment: KFC rolled out limited-time menu promotions, including the return of fried pickles and a new 5-for-$5 tenders deal, which could help drive traffic and support near-term sales at one of Yum’s key brands. KFC Brings Back Popular Fried Pickles and Introduces New 5 for $5 Tenders Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Taco Bell’s foundation announced $14.5 million in scholarship awards, a brand-building and community-focused update that is positive for reputation but unlikely to materially affect earnings in the near term. Taco Bell Foundation Scholarship Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment toward the restaurant sector remains cautious, with UBS describing demand as “still-sluggish,” which may weigh on expectations for Yum’s same-store sales and traffic trends. Investors Remain Cautious Amid Still-Sluggish Restaurant Industry Demand, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleging Pizza Hut’s AI system caused operational issues and about $100 million in damages could raise legal, reputational, and franchise-related concerns for Yum! Brands. Pizza Hut AI System Lawsuit

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, 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 $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, 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 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 2,890 shares of company stock worth $451,123 in the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $152.13 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $157.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.25. The firm has a market cap of $41.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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%. Yum! Brands's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be issued 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 is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. 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. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.22.

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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