Scott Mezvinsky Sells 268 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total transaction of $41,175.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,054.48. The trade was a 35.73% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $41,044.20.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of YUM traded down $1.23 on Tuesday, reaching $152.08. 1,595,643 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,134,946. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.75. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be given a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.74%.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut divestiture completed: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with potential additional earn-out payments of up to $75 million by 2030. Including the separate Pizza Hut China transaction with Yum China, total proceeds from the broader divestiture are approximately $2.7 billion. The transaction provides cash and allows Yum to concentrate on Taco Bell, KFC and other remaining brands. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Potential for a leaner portfolio: The divestiture could reduce exposure to Pizza Hut’s operational challenges and give management more flexibility to invest in faster-growing brands. LongRange Capital is expected to pursue a turnaround of Pizza Hut outside the immediate pressures of public-market reporting. 1980s Pizza King Officially Gets a New Owner
• Neutral Sentiment: International Taco Bell expansion: Americana Restaurants signed an agreement to launch Taco Bell in the United Arab Emirates, marking the brand’s return to that market after leaving in 2012. The partnership supports Taco Bell’s international growth, although the near-term financial effect on Yum! Brands was not disclosed. Americana Restaurants Signs Deal to Launch Taco Bell in UAE
• Negative Sentiment: Investor uncertainty surrounding the sale: YUM shares moved lower as the Pizza Hut transaction became final. Deal adjustments and the exact financial terms were not fully disclosed in some reports, while Eduardo Luz was named interim CEO of Pizza Hut, underscoring the brand’s ongoing turnaround needs. Investors may also be weighing the loss of Pizza Hut’s revenue contribution against the strategic benefits of the divestiture. Yum! Brands Stock Slides as Pizza Hut Sale Finalizes

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on YUM. Zacks Research cut Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

Yum! Brands Company 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.