Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 26.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,757 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,685 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,686,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Augustine Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.2% in the third quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $536,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.5% in the third quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 17,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,613,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands announced a leadership transition in its COO role, with Tracy Skeans set to retire after more than 25 years and remain as an advisor through year-end. The orderly transition may reassure investors that the company is managing succession smoothly. Yum! Brands Announces Retirement of Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” story, potentially allowing the company to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin brands like KFC and Taco Bell and use proceeds to reduce debt. Yum Brands in talks to sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm: report
• Neutral Sentiment: KFC announced a Supergirl-themed summer promotion with limited-edition meals, sauces, and collectibles. This could support near-term traffic, but it is too early to tell whether the campaign will materially move results. Supergirl Summer Takes Off at KFC® with New Supergirl Ultimate Meal, Character-Inspired Sauce Showdowns and Must-Have Limited-Edition Collectibles
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer included Yum! Brands among stocks he likes for diversification outside the AI trade, which may help keep YUM on investors’ radar but does not change fundamentals by itself. Jim Cramer says look to buy these 5 stocks outside the AI trade for diversification
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider filings showed CEO stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. While routine, insider selling can still add pressure on sentiment when the stock is already under review. SEC Form 4 filing

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction 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 $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $146.57 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39. The company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $156.11 and a 200-day moving average of $155.66.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (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 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 previous year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 EPS 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 $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.