Capital International Ltd. CA Has $13.47 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Capital International Ltd. CA grew its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 58.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 89,034 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 32,871 shares during the period. Capital International Ltd. CA’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. boosted 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’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 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 approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $38,664.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $71,551.62. This represents a 35.08% decrease in their position. 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 ninety days, insiders sold 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $150.78 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $155.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 0.57.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.39%.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum Brands is weighing an exit from Pizza Hut are boosting the stock on hopes that divesting the weaker pizza chain could sharpen execution and improve margins. Pizza Hut’s future in doubt as Yum Brands weighs exit and surprise company eyes takeover
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer also argued that “a Yum free of Pizza Hut” could trade higher, reinforcing the market’s view that a possible sale would be a value-creating move for YUM. Jim Cramer Believes “A Yum Free of Pizza Hut Is a Yum That’s Going to Trade Much Higher”
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary raised Yum’s fair value estimate and cited stronger KFC and Taco Bell fundamentals, suggesting the stock may still have upside if the Pizza Hut situation is resolved favorably. How The Investment Story Is Shifting For Yum Brands (YUM) After New Targets And Pizza Hut Talks
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum announced that COO and Chief People Officer Tracy Skeans will retire after 25 years, a leadership change that adds some succession-planning focus but is not clearly a major business setback. Yum Brands COO Tracy Skeans stepping down after 25 years with the company
• Neutral Sentiment: Separate coverage repeated the retirement news, keeping the focus on management transition rather than a change in near-term operating results. Yum Brands COO and chief people officer to retire after 25 years with the company

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

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.