Twin Capital Management Inc. Takes $598,000 Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Twin Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,847 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $598,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of YUM. Econ Financial Services Corp boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $498,000 after purchasing 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 worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,009,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hilltop Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $152.10 on Friday. 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 $41.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.56. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $154.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.91.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The business had revenue of $2.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

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 issued 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 was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total value of $279,224.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,544. The trade was a 34.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares in the company, valued at $1,925,521.26. This represents a 33.33% 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 sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Key Yum! Brands News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts are still looking ahead to Yum! Brands’ upcoming quarterly results, with expectations for low-double-digit bottom-line improvement, which could help offset some of the outbreak-related pressure. What to Expect From Yum! Brands’ Next Quarterly Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Yum’s Taco Bell reportedly removed select items from some restaurants as a precaution while officials investigate the outbreak; the company says it has ruled out any confirmed connection so far. Yum’s Taco Bell removes select items, says no confirmed link to U.S. cyclosporiasis outbreak
• Negative Sentiment: Reuters reported that Taco Bell lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms has been identified by investigators as a potential source of the cyclosporiasis outbreak, increasing reputational and legal risk for Yum! Brands. Taco Bell lettuce supplied by Taylor Farms linked to US cyclosporiasis outbreak, Washington Post reports
• Negative Sentiment: YUM stock has also been hit by broader outbreak-related headlines and investor concern that the issue could hurt traffic at Taco Bell and pressure near-term sentiment. Is Yum! Brands (YUM) Below Fair Value As Cyclospora Headlines Weigh On Sentiment?

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Weiss Ratings lowered Yum! Brands from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.