TD Asset Management Inc Sells 84,702 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

TD Asset Management Inc reduced its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,640,997 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 84,702 shares during the quarter. TD Asset Management Inc’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $248,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,055,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $22,422,000 after purchasing an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% in the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,447,000 after purchasing an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $19,294,000 after purchasing an additional 1,256 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $344,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.3%

YUM opened at $148.42 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $40.91 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $155.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $155.64.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

YUM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $185.00 price target on Yum! Brands and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.17.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $38,664.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $71,551.62. This represents a 35.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owned 64,282 shares in the company, valued at $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,895 shares of company stock valued at $906,499. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Reports that Yum! may explore a sale of Pizza Hut are fueling a sum-of-the-parts argument, which could unlock value by letting management focus more on stronger brands like Taco Bell and KFC and potentially reduce debt.
• Positive Sentiment: KFC launched a Supergirl-themed summer promotion with new meals, sauces, and collectibles, signaling ongoing efforts to drive traffic and keep the brand culturally relevant.
• Positive Sentiment: One analyst-backed note argued Yum! still has strong growth potential versus other franchised restaurant companies, suggesting the stock may be undervaluing its long-term brand portfolio.

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.