Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys 38,818 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 140.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 66,364 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 38,818 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $8,671,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, DB Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.34, for a total transaction of $963,514.78. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 175,377 shares in the company, valued at $23,910,900.18. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,078 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $138.37, for a total value of $979,382.86. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 172,128 shares in the company, valued at $23,817,351.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,064 shares of company stock worth $3,228,698. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $154.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $160.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $141.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, March 7th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.75.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.2 %

Yum! Brands stock traded up $1.71 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $141.81. The stock had a trading volume of 1,907,743 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,936,616. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.53 and a 12 month high of $143.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $137.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $130.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.92 billion, a PE ratio of 25.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $1.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.13). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.57% and a negative return on equity of 17.76%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Profile

Yum! Brands, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, develops, operates, and franchises quick service restaurants worldwide. The company operates through the KFC Division, the Taco Bell Division, the Pizza Hut Division, and the Habit Burger Grill Division segments. It also operates restaurants under the KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, and The Habit Burger Grill brands, which specialize in chicken, pizza, made-to-order chargrilled burgers, sandwiches, Mexican-style food categories, and other food products.