Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Has $4.89 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 23.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,580 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,818 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $4,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $152.94 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $153.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $155.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $137.33 and a fifty-two week high of $170.14. The company has a market capitalization of $41.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

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

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $474. The trade was a 99.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 18,780 shares of company stock worth $2,940,693 over the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale improves portfolio focus: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut operations outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, plus a potential $75 million earn-out. Management can now concentrate capital and resources on Taco Bell, KFC and other higher-growth opportunities. The broader Pizza Hut transactions, including the Mainland China business, have been reported at approximately $2.7 billion. Yum! Brands completes U.S. sale of Pizza Hut
• Positive Sentiment: $4 billion buyback supports shareholder returns: Yum! Brands’ repurchase authorization allows the company to buy back up to roughly 9.4% of its outstanding shares. If executed effectively, the program could reduce share count and provide support for earnings per share, although it also uses capital that could otherwise fund expansion or debt reduction. Dropping the Dough: Yum! Brands Strategically Trims the Fat
• Positive Sentiment: New board expertise: Steve Bratspies, a former HanesBrands chief executive and Walmart senior executive, joined Yum!’s board and its Management Planning and Development Committee. His consumer, retail and merchandising experience may strengthen oversight and succession planning. What Could Steve Bratspies Bring to Yum! Brands
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor conference appearance scheduled: Yum! Brands will participate in the Barclays Annual Global Consumer Conference. The event could provide updates on traffic, franchisee health, international growth and capital allocation, but no new financial outlook was announced. Yum! Brands to Participate in the Barclays Annual Global Consumer Conference
• Neutral Sentiment: Planned insider selling: CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for about $41,176 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The scheduled nature and relatively small dollar value make the transaction a limited signal about management’s view of YUM’s valuation. Yum! Brands CEO sells shares
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut transition carries execution risk: Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigned around the time of the sale, adding leadership uncertainty as the new owner develops a turnaround plan. The divestiture also reduces Yum!’s revenue diversification, while the fast-food industry continues to face softer traffic. Yum says Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigns

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Zacks Research lowered Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, August 24th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Yum! Brands to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. One 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.