Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner Sells 261 Shares of Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $39,972.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 63,771 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,766,528.65. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, 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 Wednesday, July 1st, Christopher Lee Turner sold 250 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $40,105.00.
• On Monday, June 1st, Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $148.90 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $153.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.66. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.33 and a 12-month high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.95 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. 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 2.0%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that permits the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.94.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Taco Bell attributed strong digital-sales growth to its loyalty program and plans to introduce a redesigned app in the third quarter. The initiative could improve customer engagement, ordering frequency and sales recovery. Taco Bell credits its loyalty program for digital sales growth
• Positive Sentiment: Fundsmith’s investment commentary highlighted Yum!’s rapid international expansion as a long-term growth driver, supporting the case for continued unit growth and geographic diversification. Yum! Brands: Rapid Global Expansion Drives Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage examined what Yum! Brands could look like without Pizza Hut, raising questions about the strategic and financial implications of a potential separation. The article does not indicate that a transaction has been announced. What does a Pizza Hut-less Yum Brands look like?
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 261 shares for approximately $40,000, while CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for about $41,000. Both trades were conducted under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, reducing their significance as a discretionary bearish signal. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: The Taco Bell cyclospora outbreak has reportedly hurt sales and customer traffic, with rising concern about brand damage and the potential impact on Yum!’s financial results. Market anxiety intensified after reports linked the outbreak to additional deaths in Michigan. Sweetgreen drops as Yum falls amid cyclospora concerns

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Harrell Investment Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Harrell Investment Partners LLC now owns 4,235 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $677,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

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.