Bleakley Financial Group LLC Takes $1.59 Million Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• Bleakley Financial Group opened a new position in Yum! Brands during the first quarter, buying 10,221 shares valued at about $1.59 million.
• Wall Street remains broadly constructive on the stock: analysts currently rate Yum! Brands as a Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $174.81.
• Yum! Brands also announced a $4 billion share buyback plan and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, yielding about 2.0%.

Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 10,221 shares of the restaurant operator's stock, valued at approximately $1,589,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 8.0% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 7,861 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,055,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 151,316 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $22,422,000 after acquiring an additional 83,916 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 117,824 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $17,447,000 after acquiring an additional 10,755 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 130,205 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $19,294,000 after acquiring an additional 1,256 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HUB Investment Partners LLC grew its position in Yum! Brands by 59.1% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $344,000 after acquiring an additional 861 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, April 30th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Sunday. Finally, Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. 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 stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $174.81.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 1,837 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.00, for a total transaction of $279,224.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer owned 3,497 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $531,544. This represents a 34.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.48, for a total value of $44,452.96. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 483 shares in the company, valued at approximately $77,511.84. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE YUM opened at $152.10 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.33 and a 1 year high of $170.14. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $154.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $156.91. The company has a market cap of $41.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.30 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.74 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.39%.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback 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 purchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Trending Headlines about Yum! Brands

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?

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.

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