Cinctive Capital Management LP Has $5.65 Million Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Cinctive Capital Management LP lowered its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 73.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 37,327 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 104,234 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,647,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Concentric Capital Strategies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $10,848,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 8,542 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,292,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $7,555,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 4,461.7% during the 4th quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP now owns 190,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $28,763,000 after purchasing an additional 185,962 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $28,849,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

More Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: The Pizza Hut divestiture should streamline Yum! Brands and allow management to concentrate on KFC and Taco Bell, which are seen as the company’s main growth drivers. Yum! Brands set to sell Pizza Hut business
• Positive Sentiment: The company also approved a $4 billion share repurchase authorization, which could support earnings per share and signals confidence in the stock’s value. Yum! Brands To Sell Pizza Hut In $2.7 Bln Deal, Plans $4 Bln Buyback; Shares Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts are split on the move: some say it removes a long-running overhang, while others argue valuation still limits near-term upside. Hold Rating Maintained on Yum! Brands as Pizza Hut Divestiture Clears Overhang but Valuation Caps Near-Term Upside
• Negative Sentiment: The sale also underscores Pizza Hut’s weak performance, with slower demand and tougher competition making the brand a drag on the broader portfolio. Yum Brands to sell Pizza Hut for $2.7 billion

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 64,282 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,522,735.48. This trade represents a 0.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 3,497 shares in the company, valued at $531,544. This trade represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 5,895 shares of company stock worth $906,499 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Twelve investment 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, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $176.12.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 2.3%

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $154.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.45 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.57. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $169.39. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $154.93 and its 200-day moving average is $155.74.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.30 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

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.