Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $106.79 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 667,994 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $106,786,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the second quarter valued at about $1,171,000. Plato Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $859,000. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,108,000. Finally, HBK Sorce Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $404,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.2%

NYSE YUM opened at $144.89 on Wednesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $137.33 and a 52 week high of $170.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $153.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.09.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has initiated a share repurchase 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 reacquire up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 12th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $168.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.65.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 277 shares of the 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 $44,436.34. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 483 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $77,482.86. This trade represents a 36.45% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Company 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.