Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Raises Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,843 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 9,788 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,121,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Augustine Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Diversified Trust Co. now owns 3,589 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 3,527 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Silverlake Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,428 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Candriam S.C.A. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Candriam S.C.A. now owns 17,189 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,613,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders backed Yum! Brands’ board and current governance structure at the annual meeting, reducing near-term governance uncertainty and signaling investor support for management. Yum! Brands Shareholders Back Board, Governance Structure
• Positive Sentiment: KFC rolled out limited-time menu promotions, including the return of fried pickles and a new 5-for-$5 tenders deal, which could help drive traffic and support near-term sales at one of Yum’s key brands. KFC Brings Back Popular Fried Pickles and Introduces New 5 for $5 Tenders Deal
• Neutral Sentiment: Taco Bell’s foundation announced $14.5 million in scholarship awards, a brand-building and community-focused update that is positive for reputation but unlikely to materially affect earnings in the near term. Taco Bell Foundation Scholarship Announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Sentiment toward the restaurant sector remains cautious, with UBS describing demand as “still-sluggish,” which may weigh on expectations for Yum’s same-store sales and traffic trends. Investors Remain Cautious Amid Still-Sluggish Restaurant Industry Demand, UBS Says
• Negative Sentiment: A lawsuit alleging Pizza Hut’s AI system caused operational issues and about $100 million in damages could raise legal, reputational, and franchise-related concerns for Yum! Brands. Pizza Hut AI System Lawsuit

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $40,120.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,552 shares in the company, valued at $10,359,304.96. The trade was a 0.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 284 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.02, for a total transaction of $47,149.68. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 2,890 shares of company stock valued at $451,123 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on YUM. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $176.22.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $152.13 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $137.33 and a one year high of $169.39. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.93 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.61.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

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.