Danske Bank A S Purchases New Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 228,223 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $36,484,000. Danske Bank A S owned 0.08% of Yum! Brands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Steph & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Kelleher Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $146.15 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $153.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.02. The company has a market cap of $39.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.55.

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, 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,831,674. The trade was a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Argus cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Twelve equities 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 company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

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.