Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner Sells 250 Shares

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $40,105.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,032 shares in the company, valued at $10,272,013.44. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Christopher Lee Turner also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, June 1st, Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80.
• On Friday, May 1st, Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $40,120.00.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $161.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 2.04 and a beta of 0.56. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $169.39. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $153.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $156.29.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 20.48% and a negative return on equity of 23.51%. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.39%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $176.12.

About Yum! Brands

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.