Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Lowers Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

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 filing with the SEC. The fund 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 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,416,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Augustine Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $497,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares in the last quarter. 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. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.33 and a twelve month high of $170.14. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $154.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.57, a PEG 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has authorized a share 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 buy up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is 48.39%.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total value of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Yum! Brands

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?

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on YUM. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.81.

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.