Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 146,334 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,988,118 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 146,334 shares during the quarter. Yum! Brands comprises about 3.7% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $300,762,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $706,799,000. Junto Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $133,251,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $126,945,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 35,242,558 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $5,356,869,000 after acquiring an additional 684,946 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $86,944,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key 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 fueled a “sum-of-the-parts” narrative, potentially improving valuation by letting Yum focus on its stronger brands and use proceeds to strengthen the balance sheet. Pizza Hut Sale: Yum Brands In Talks With LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Yum’s push to use AI and data science to forecast customer cravings across Taco Bell, KFC, Pizza Hut and Habit Burger & Grill highlights efforts to improve menu innovation and long-term growth. Exclusive: Inside Yum’s effort to predict what customers will crave next
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands COO Tracy Skeans announced plans to retire after 25 years, but the company says she will stay on as an advisor through year-end, suggesting an orderly transition. Yum Brands COO to retire after 25 years
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands also drew attention after a strong trading session and continued analyst support following its recent earnings beat, which showed better-than-expected EPS and revenue growth. Yum! Brands Inc. stock outperforms competitors on strong trading day
• Negative Sentiment: CEO Scott Mezvinsky’s recent insider share sale under a pre-arranged trading plan may weigh slightly on sentiment, even though the transaction was routine. Yum! Brands Keeps Growing. Why the Stock Price Will Follow.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.17.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $148.03 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $169.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $40.80 billion, a PE ratio of 23.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.57. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $155.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.63.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

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.