Wealthfront Advisers LLC Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 39,074 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $6,246,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Steph & Co. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Kelleher Financial Advisors purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands’ investment narrative is increasingly centered on artificial intelligence, automation, digital loyalty and personalized app experiences. Management is using these tools across Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut to improve delivery, inventory management and customer engagement, potentially supporting efficiency and sales growth. How Yum! Brands’ AI Automation And Loyalty Push Has Changed Its Investment Story
• Positive Sentiment: One valuation analysis argues that YUM could be approximately 19% below fair value, offering potential upside if investors view the company’s long-term brand strength, technology investments and international growth favorably. The appointment of director Kathleen Oberg to the Audit Committee was also highlighted as a governance development. Yum! Brands Could Be 19% Below Fair Value After Audit Committee Change
• Neutral Sentiment: Executive Sean Tresvant reported restricted stock unit vesting and the withholding of shares to cover taxes. The filing is generally routine and does not necessarily signal a change in management’s view of the company. Yum Brands Executive Sean Tresvant Reports RSU Vesting and Tax-Related Share Withholding
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst roundups from Zacks and other market commentators provide additional coverage of YUM but do not identify a decisive new earnings or operating catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights McDonald’s, Starbucks and Yum! Brands
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! Brands investors. Although no finding of wrongdoing was reported, the investigation creates legal and reputational uncertainty. Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims on Behalf of Yum! Brands Investors
• Negative Sentiment: Argus issued a pessimistic forecast for YUM, tempering the more optimistic fair-value commentary and suggesting concern about the stock’s near-term risk-reward profile. Argus Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Yum! Brands Stock

Yum! Brands Trading Up 4.3%

NYSE:YUM opened at $152.24 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $153.45 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.00. The firm has a market cap of $41.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Twelve 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 an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $41,044.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,971.45. This trade represents a 35.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% 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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Company 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.