QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $16.14 Million Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Key Points

• QRG Capital Management increased its Yum! Brands stake by 19.8% in the first quarter, bringing its holdings to 103,807 shares valued at about $16.14 million.
• Yum! Brands reported stronger-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $1.50 versus the $1.39 consensus and revenue of $2.06 billion, up 15.2% year over year.
• The company authorized a $4 billion share buyback and recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.75 per share, while analysts currently see the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $176.12.

QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 19.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 103,807 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 17,189 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $16,140,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Steph & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the 1st quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Wiser Advisor Group LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Community Bank N.A. bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Jessup Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of YUM opened at $164.20 on Friday. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $153.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.43. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $169.39. The company has a market capitalization of $45.26 billion, a PE ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.56.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.06 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to purchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.42, for a total transaction of $44,436.34. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares in the company, valued at $77,482.86. This represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total transaction of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 3,140 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $485,695.20. This trade represents a 48.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

YUM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings cut Yum! Brands from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $168.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Monday, May 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $174.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, 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. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $176.12.

About Yum! Brands

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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