Christopher Lee Turner Sells 270 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher Lee Turner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 1st, Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $40,120.00.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.3%

YUM stock opened at $148.42 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The company has a market capitalization of $40.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $155.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $155.64.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. 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. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $186.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.17.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have boosted the “sum-of-the-parts” thesis, suggesting Yum could use proceeds to reduce debt and concentrate on higher-growth brands. Slice of the Pie: Why Yum’s Deal Lifts QSR
• Positive Sentiment: One analyst said Yum still has strong growth potential among franchised restaurant companies and argued the stock may not fully reflect those strengths yet. Yum! Brands Keeps Growing. Why the Stock Price Will Follow.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC launched a Supergirl-themed summer promotion with limited-edition meals, sauces, and collectibles, which could help near-term traffic and brand buzz. Supergirl Summer Takes Off at KFC® with New Supergirl Ultimate Meal, Character-Inspired Sauce Showdowns and Must-Have Limited-Edition Collectibles
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum announced COO and Chief People & Culture Officer Tracy Skeans will retire after more than 25 years, but she will stay on through year-end in an advisory role, which suggests an orderly transition. Yum! Brands Announces Retirement of Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer highlighted Yum as a defensive diversification idea outside the AI trade, which may support investor attention but is not a fundamental catalyst by itself. Jim Cramer says look to buy these 5 stocks outside the AI trade for diversification
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott Mezvinsky disclosed a small stock sale under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan, which is routine but can still weigh on sentiment when paired with other headlines. SEC Form 4 filing

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Steph & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Community Bank N.A. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.