Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Purchased by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 15,378.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,142,092 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 69,688,945 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned 25.70% of Yum! Brands worth $11,212,915,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Steph & Co. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 107.5% during the first quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 166 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $27,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at $29,000. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:YUM opened at $149.73 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.33 and a 52-week high of $170.14. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $153.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $155.33.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.18 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 12.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 18th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 9th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 9th. Yum! Brands's dividend payout ratio is 37.74%.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $180.00 to $185.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 3rd. Argus decreased their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Yum! Brands from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $174.65.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the company'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. This represents a 33.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP David Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $153.15, for a total value of $1,219,227.15. Following the sale, the vice president owned 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 18,780 shares of company stock valued at $2,940,693. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.