Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Purchased by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management increased its Yum! Brands stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, ending with 8.8 million shares valued at about $1.33 billion. Institutional ownership remains high, with roughly 82.37% of the stock held by institutions and hedge funds.
• Yum! Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $1.50 versus the $1.39 estimate and revenue of $2.06 billion, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year. The company also continues to see mixed trading performance, with the stock down 1.4% on the day mentioned.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, or $3.00 annualized, for a yield of about 2.0%. Analysts remain broadly positive, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $175.89.

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 121,304 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned about 3.17% of Yum! Brands worth $1,334,427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $5,356,869,000 after acquiring an additional 684,946 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in Yum! Brands by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 16,179,636 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,459,940,000 after purchasing an additional 487,069 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,348,846 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $509,025,000 after purchasing an additional 176,221 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,943,187 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $447,364,000 after purchasing an additional 153,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sustainable Growth Advisers LP grew its position in Yum! Brands by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Sustainable Growth Advisers LP now owns 2,735,106 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $415,736,000 after purchasing an additional 104,336 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.4%

YUM stock opened at $149.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.18, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The company's 50-day moving average price is $156.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.69.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $175.89.

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 dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at approximately $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible 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 dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 5,364 shares of company stock worth $827,837. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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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