Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Sells 1,119 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,178 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 1,119 shares during the quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 34,889 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Paget Leonard Alves sold 6,309 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $136.19, for a total value of $859,222.71. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 33,515 shares of company stock valued at $4,620,080. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $135.42 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $138.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $134.70. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.53 and a 52 week high of $143.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.08.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The restaurant operator reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.05). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 22.92% and a negative return on equity of 18.64%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.06 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands declared that its board has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, May 15th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the restaurant operator to buy up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 47.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Yum! Brands from $166.00 to $162.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $133.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Argus reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.33.

Yum! Brands Company 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.