Corient Private Wealth LP Makes New Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Corient Private Wealth LP bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 162,948 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $26,048,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Harrell Investment Partners LLC raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the second quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,416,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $154.08 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $155.81. The stock has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Argus lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $39,972.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,043 shares of company stock valued at $2,978,180. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

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.