DJE Kapital AG Has $5.29 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

DJE Kapital AG grew its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 15.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 34,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 4,500 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,164,814 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,991,573,000 after purchasing an additional 124,720 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,800,382 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,334,427,000 after purchasing an additional 121,304 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,471,127 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $676,392,000 after buying an additional 104,512 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This represents a 34.44% 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 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE YUM opened at $147.35 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $154.32 and its 200-day moving average is $156.85. The company has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued 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 (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Key Stories Impacting 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%

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, April 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.81.

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.