SEB Asset Management AB Takes $15.29 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

SEB Asset Management AB acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 98,311 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $15,285,000.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,055,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 124.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $22,422,000 after buying an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 10.0% during the second quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,447,000 after buying an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 1,256 shares during the period. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 861 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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

• Positive Sentiment: Yum! Brands said a positive cyclospora test on Taylor Farms lettuce was a false positive, which could help ease some fears that the outbreak source had been confirmed. Market Chatter: Yum! Brands Says Positive Cyclospora Test on Taylor Farms Lettuce was False Positive
• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a throwback value menu with $3 Personal Pan Pizzas, which could support traffic and help offset some of the negative Taco Bell news. Pizza Hut Launches Throwback Value Menu With $3 Personal Pan Pizzas
• Neutral Sentiment: ThaiBev is considering selling its large KFC franchise business in Thailand, but this appears to be a third-party asset sale rather than a direct operating change for Yum! Brands. ThaiBev Weighs Sale of Thailand’s Largest KFC Franchise With 500+ Restaurants
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and traders are watching Yum! Brands’ chart closely as it approaches a possible “death cross,” a bearish technical signal that can add downward pressure on the stock. QUICK SPARK: Yum! Brands May Soon Serve Traders a Death Cross
• Negative Sentiment: Taco Bell visits fell sharply, with reports of traffic dropping nearly 19% after health authorities linked lettuce from a supplier to a parasite outbreak, raising concerns about near-term sales and brand damage. Taco Bell Traffic Sinks After Lettuce Tied to Parasite Outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Yum shares were reported to be sliding as Taco Bell traffic dropped nearly 19%, reinforcing concerns that the outbreak is weighing on restaurant-sector sentiment and Yum!’s same-store sales outlook. Yum Shares Slide 10% as Taco Bell Traffic Drops Nearly 19%

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,482.86. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $962,680.42. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This trade represents a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $147.35 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $154.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $156.85. The company has a market cap of $40.61 billion, a PE ratio of 23.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.88 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.39%.

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

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.