Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its Yum! Brands stake by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 264,306 shares and ending with 1.84 million shares valued at about $278.9 million.
• Yum! Brands posted better-than-expected quarterly results, reporting $1.50 EPS versus $1.39 expected and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% from a year earlier.
• Analyst sentiment remains supportive, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $176.17, while the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lessened its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,843,632 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 264,306 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.66% of Yum! Brands worth $278,905,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Silverlake Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Barclays set a $185.00 target price on Yum! Brands and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.17.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.03 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $155.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a PEG ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39.

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 analysts' consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid 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%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was 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 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. Insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” narrative, potentially improving valuation by letting Yum focus on its stronger brands and use proceeds to strengthen the balance sheet. Pizza Hut Sale: Yum Brands In Talks With LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s push to use AI and data science to forecast customer cravings across Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill highlights efforts to improve menu innovation and long-term growth. Exclusive: Inside Yum's effort to predict what customers will crave next
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands COO Tracy Skeans announced plans to retire after 25 years, but the company says she will stay on as an advisor through year-end, suggesting an orderly transition. Yum Brands COO to retire after 25 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands also drew attention after a strong trading session and continued analyst support following its recent earnings beat, which showed better-than-expected EPS and revenue growth. Yum! Brands Inc. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott Mezvinsky’s recent insider share sale under a pre-arranged trading plan may weigh slightly on sentiment, even though the transaction was routine. Yum! Brands Keeps Growing. Why the Stock Price Will Follow.

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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