Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc reduced its Yum! Brands stake by 7.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 161,503 shares and leaving it with 2,086,659 shares valued at about $315.7 million.
• Yum! Brands reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 topping estimates and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year.
• Analysts remain broadly positive on the stock, with 12 Buy ratings and 8 Hold ratings, a consensus “Moderate Buy,” and an average price target of $176.22.

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,086,659 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after selling 161,503 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.75% of Yum! Brands worth $315,670,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Community Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 81.7% during the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 198 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares during the period. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,359,304.96. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 5,890 shares of company stock worth $915,163 over the last quarter. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley set a $180.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Guggenheim reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Evercore reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $176.22.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $154.65 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $156.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.65. The firm has a market cap of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.94, a PEG ratio of 1.97 and a beta of 0.61. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 48.39%.

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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