Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Buys Shares of 30,580 Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 30,580 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $4,889,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $86,197,000 after acquiring an additional 31,836 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $88,030,000 after purchasing an additional 30,075 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,264,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 19.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $16,140,000 after purchasing an additional 17,189 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

More Yum! Brands News

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

NYSE:YUM opened at $153.31 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.84 billion, a PE ratio of 19.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.43 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.98. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for 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%. Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has approved a share buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. 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 report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.