Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lessened its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 11.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 109,046 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 14,788 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $16,954,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $706,799,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after purchasing an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $632,950,000 after buying an additional 1,240,777 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $168,604,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 3.7%

Shares of YUM opened at $152.33 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $154.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $156.92. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $170.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a PE ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.56.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.30 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Pizza Hut launched a limited-time “Throwback Value Menu,” plus a streetwear collaboration and nostalgic “Back to the Hut” promotion, which could help support customer traffic and brand buzz. Pizza Hut Introduces New Throwback Value Menu to Celebrate Its Most Iconic Menu Items
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum! Brands also remains in restructuring mode, including selling Pizza Hut operations in some markets, which could improve focus and margins over time but is not an immediate catalyst. Yum! Brands (YUM) Stock May Be Near Fair Value On Outbreak Probe
• Negative Sentiment: Federal and state health officials are investigating whether Taco Bell ingredients were linked to a multistate cyclosporiasis outbreak, prompting Taco Bell to remove select items and fresh ingredients from some restaurants as a precaution. Yum shares fall after report US health authorities investigating Taco Bell in cyclosporiasis outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: News of the investigation has weighed on sentiment and pushed the shares lower as investors worry about possible reputational damage, traffic disruption, and any broader food-safety fallout for Taco Bell. Is Yum! Brands (YUM) Below Fair Value As Cyclospora Headlines Weigh On Sentiment?

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,511.84. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total value of $39,997.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly 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. 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 a total of 12,423 shares of company stock valued at $1,953,721 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Sunday. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $174.81.

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.