Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Capital World Investors

Key Points

• Capital World Investors cut its Yum! Brands stake by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 89,356 shares and leaving it with 623,605 shares valued at about $94.3 million.
• Yum! Brands has seen mixed sentiment from analysts, but the overall view remains Moderate Buy, with 12 Buy ratings, 7 Hold ratings, and an average price target of $176.12.
• The company reported solid quarterly results, including earnings of $1.50 per share versus the $1.39 estimate and revenue of $2.06 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share.

Capital World Investors 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 623,605 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 89,356 shares during the quarter. Capital World Investors owned 0.22% of Yum! Brands worth $94,339,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Caitlin John LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.12.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands is reportedly close to selling Pizza Hut to a private equity buyer, a move that could simplify the company’s structure and allow management to focus on higher-performing brands like Taco Bell and KFC. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched “The Summer of Hut Originals,” a marketing campaign that brings back nostalgic promotions like BOOK IT!, which could support brand engagement and traffic in the near term. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Tracy Skeans, Yum’s COO and Chief People Officer, is retiring after more than 25 years with the company. Leadership turnover can create uncertainty, but the announcement appears to be a planned retirement rather than a surprise departure. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary noted that Yum! Brands has underperformed the consumer cyclical sector and lagged some peers, even though analysts still remain moderately optimistic on the stock. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: MarketWatch reported that Yum! Brands stock underperformed competitors on Monday, reflecting some relative weakness versus restaurant peers. Article Title

Yum! Brands Trading Up 3.0%

NYSE:YUM opened at $151.79 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $155.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.66. The firm has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.