Scott Mezvinsky Sells 268 Shares of Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.64, for a total transaction of $41,175.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 482 shares in the company, valued at approximately $74,054.48. The trade was a 35.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Scott Mezvinsky also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 3rd, Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $41,044.20.
• On Wednesday, July 1st, Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of Yum! Brands stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $44,436.34.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.5%

Yum! Brands stock opened at $151.21 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $155.62. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The stock has a market cap of $41.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.55.

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

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

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

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

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut sale streamlines Yum!’s portfolio: Yum! Brands completed the sale of Pizza Hut outside Mainland China to LongRange Capital for approximately $1.5 billion, with potential additional proceeds of $75 million through 2030 based on performance. Including the separate Mainland China transaction, total proceeds are approximately $2.7 billion. Management can now focus more heavily on Taco Bell, KFC and other growth initiatives while transferring Pizza Hut’s turnaround requirements to its new owner. Yum! Brands Completes Sale of Pizza Hut to LongRange Capital
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns may support earnings per share: Yum! has an authorized $4 billion share-repurchase program, potentially reducing its share count substantially, and continues to pay a quarterly dividend of $0.75. These actions could help offset slower restaurant traffic and reinforce the investment case for the company’s asset-light, franchise-focused model.
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO stock sale was conducted under a preset plan: Chief Executive Officer Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares for approximately $41,176, reducing his direct ownership by about 35.7%. Because the sale was executed under a Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, it provides limited evidence of a negative view of Yum!’s outlook. SEC Form 4 filing
• Negative Sentiment: Pizza Hut leadership transition raises execution risk: Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell resigned as ownership changed, with Eduardo Luz reportedly serving as interim CEO. Although leadership turnover is common in private-equity acquisitions, the transition adds uncertainty around Pizza Hut’s turnaround and may be contributing to investor caution. Yum Says Pizza Hut CEO Aaron Powell Resigns
• Negative Sentiment: Industry demand remains a concern: Reports of weaker quick-service restaurant traffic, increased discounting and pressure on lower-income consumers could weigh on Taco Bell and KFC even after the Pizza Hut divestiture. The sale reduces diversification and does not eliminate broader consumer or margin risks facing Yum!’s remaining brands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research downgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $174.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday, July 12th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 569,676 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $86,197,000 after purchasing an additional 31,836 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the first quarter valued at about $1,589,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $88,030,000 after buying an additional 30,075 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $1,264,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 19.8% during the 1st 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 period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.