Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky Sells 261 Shares

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $38,664.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,551.62. This trade represents a 35.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total transaction of $44,452.96.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $146.57 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.66. The company has a market cap of $40.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands announced a leadership transition in its COO role, with Tracy Skeans set to retire after more than 25 years and remain as an advisor through year-end. The orderly transition may reassure investors that the company is managing succession smoothly. Yum! Brands Announces Retirement of Tracy Skeans, Chief Operating Officer and Chief People & Culture Officer
• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! Brands may sell Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital have fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” story, potentially allowing the company to focus on higher-growth, higher-margin brands like KFC and Taco Bell and use proceeds to reduce debt. Yum Brands in talks to sell Pizza Hut to private equity firm: report
• Neutral Sentiment: KFC announced a Supergirl-themed summer promotion with limited-edition meals, sauces, and collectibles. This could support near-term traffic, but it is too early to tell whether the campaign will materially move results. Supergirl Summer Takes Off at KFC® with New Supergirl Ultimate Meal, Character-Inspired Sauce Showdowns and Must-Have Limited-Edition Collectibles
• Neutral Sentiment: Jim Cramer included Yum! Brands among stocks he likes for diversification outside the AI trade, which may help keep YUM on investors’ radar but does not change fundamentals by itself. Jim Cramer says look to buy these 5 stocks outside the AI trade for diversification
• Negative Sentiment: Recent insider filings showed CEO stock sales under pre-arranged 10b5-1 plans. While routine, insider selling can still add pressure on sentiment when the stock is already under review. SEC Form 4 filing

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.89.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Keel Point LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $215,000. Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $477,000. Vestor Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $78,000. Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,800,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $590,955,000 after acquiring an additional 15,715 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.