78,790 Shares in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Acquired by Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 78,790 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $12,595,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position 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 valued at $86,197,000 after buying an additional 31,836 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,589,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 584,953 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $88,030,000 after purchasing an additional 30,075 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,264,000. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 19.8% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 103,807 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $16,140,000 after purchasing an additional 17,189 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $154.08 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $170.14. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $153.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $155.79.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 24.57% and a net margin of 25.42%.Yum! Brands’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 EPS for the current year.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 3,494 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.00, for a total value of $552,052.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3 shares in the company, valued at $474. This represents a 99.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 268 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total transaction of $41,044.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $73,971.45. The trade was a 35.69% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,512 shares of company stock worth $2,899,517. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $185.00 to $180.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 17th. Morgan Stanley upgraded Yum! Brands from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $180.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and set a $174.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $174.65.

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.