NewEdge Wealth LLC Acquires New Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

NewEdge Wealth LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 4,572 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $731,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Chancellor Financial Group WB LP purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at $627,000. Great Lakes Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $444,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter valued at about $225,000. BOK Financial Private Wealth Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth approximately $469,000. Finally, Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,953,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines 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

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $153.31 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.28, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $153.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.98.

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

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Argus decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,831,674. This represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the sale, 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 position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock valued at $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.