Saudi Central Bank Raises Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Saudi Central Bank grew its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 88.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,102 shares during the quarter. Saudi Central Bank’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,093,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Steph & Co. lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the second quarter worth $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $150.58 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.42. The company has a market capitalization of $41.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $44,436.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693. 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.