Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM)

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Traders acquired 3,322 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 275% compared to the average daily volume of 886 call options.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $74,054.48. This represents a 35.73% 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 Christopher Turner sold 285 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.11, for a total transaction of $39,931.35. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 63,225 shares in the company, valued at $8,858,454.75. This trade represents a 0.45% 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. Insiders have sold a total of 12,778 shares of company stock worth $1,966,393 over the last three months. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of YUM. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at approximately $4,186,811,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1,373.2% during the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,631,940 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $740,462,000 after purchasing an additional 4,317,526 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $638,589,000. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter worth $297,591,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $279,432,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.6%

YUM traded down $0.96 during trading on Friday, hitting $149.87. 790,019 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,163,312. The firm has a market cap of $40.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $145.49 and its 200 day moving average is $151.60. Yum! Brands has a one year low of $134.26 and a one year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The business 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 firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Yum! Brands will post 6.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.74%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on YUM. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $180.00 to $177.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Argus reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $172.56.

Yum! Brands Company Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc is a global restaurant company that develops, operates, and franchises quick-service restaurants. Its portfolio includes KFC, which specializes in fried and cooked chicken; Taco Bell, known for Mexican-inspired food; Pizza Hut, which offers pizza and related products; and The Habit Burger Grill, a fast-casual chain focused on chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, salads, and shakes.

The company primarily uses a franchised business model, working with franchisees and licensees to operate restaurants in more than 150 countries and territories.