Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Stock Holdings Boosted by BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S

Key Points

• BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its Yum! Brands stake by 61.6% in the first quarter, lifting its holdings to 18,141 shares worth about $2.82 million.
• Yum! Brands reported better-than-expected quarterly results on April 29, with EPS of $1.50 versus $1.39 expected and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year.
• The company also announced a $4 billion share repurchase program and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, equal to a 2.0% annualized yield.

BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 61.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,141 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 6,916 shares during the quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of YUM. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Jessup Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $152.00 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $154.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $155.78. The stock has a market cap of $41.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.52, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The business 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.12.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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