Legal & General Group Plc Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,861,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $297,591,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $677,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut is launching a major football-season promotion with Pepsi and Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen, including new advertising, promotional giveaways and value-oriented menu offers. The campaign could support traffic and sales during a key promotional period. Pizza Hut Teams Up With Pepsi and Josh Allen
• Positive Sentiment: KFC introduced its Hot Ranch Big Dip and Double Crispy Hot Wings nationwide, supported by a marketing partnership with streamer IShowSpeed. New products and high-profile promotions may help KFC maintain customer engagement and boost near-term demand. KFC Debuts New Hot Ranch Big Dip
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor commentary is assessing the implications of Yum!’s Pizza Hut sale and its effect on the company’s portfolio and growth strategy. The reports provide perspective but do not disclose new transaction terms or a fresh operating forecast. What Does the Pizza Hut Sale Mean for Yum! Brands?
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! Brands investors. The announcement may increase uncertainty and headline risk, although it does not itself establish wrongdoing or indicate the likely financial outcome. Pomerantz Investor Alert
• Negative Sentiment: COO Tracy Skeans sold 3,494 YUM shares worth approximately $552,000. The transaction reduced her direct holdings to three shares, which can be viewed negatively; however, it was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, reducing its significance as a discretionary signal. SEC Insider Trading Filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% 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 quarter, insiders sold 19,043 shares of company stock worth $2,978,180. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $156.55 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14. The company has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $153.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.95.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

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.