Maxi Investments CY Ltd Acquires Shares of 16,000 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Maxi Investments CY Ltd bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 16,000 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $2,558,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Steph & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% in the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. MV Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Wiser Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $153.31 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.98. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $41.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Key Stories Impacting Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands outlined a renewed consumer-growth strategy centered on strengthening brand engagement, digital capabilities, loyalty programs and operational execution across KFC, Taco Bell and Pizza Hut. The emphasis on personalized customer experiences and technology could support sales and franchisee performance. Yum! Brands Reveals New Path for Consumer Growth
• Positive Sentiment: The company appointed former HanesBrands CEO Steve Bratspies to its board, effective August 26. His experience managing global consumer brands and improving operations may add expertise as Yum! pursues growth and evaluates its portfolio. Yum! Brands Appoints Steve Bratspies to Board
• Neutral Sentiment: Pizza Hut is using a football-themed branding promotion ahead of the NFL season. The marketing effort could increase near-term visibility, but it comes as Yum! advances the multibillion-dollar sale of the chain, making the strategic implications more important than the promotion itself. Pizza Hut Branding Change
• Negative Sentiment: Shares faced pressure after Yum! announced a new chief executive officer. Although a leadership change could bring fresh momentum, investors may be concerned about execution risk and the direction of the company during the transition. Yum! Brands Slides on Naming New CEO
• Negative Sentiment: An insider reportedly reduced a Yum! Brands equity stake by 28%, while executive share withholding related to restricted-stock-unit vesting was also disclosed. These transactions are not necessarily signals of deteriorating fundamentals, but they can weigh on sentiment. Yum! Brands Insider Sale
• Negative Sentiment: Pomerantz LLP said it is investigating potential claims on behalf of Yum! investors. The announcement does not establish wrongdoing, but it adds legal and reputational uncertainty to the stock. Pomerantz Investor Investigation

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,771 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. The trade was a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

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.