Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Shares Bought by Empowered Funds LLC

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 56.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 60,169 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 21,637 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $9,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Econ Financial Services Corp increased its position in Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the first quarter. Econ Financial Services Corp now owns 15,536 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $2,416,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Magnolia Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,292 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $498,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,667 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $1,009,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 2,525 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the period. Finally, Bridgewater Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.5% during the first quarter. Bridgewater Advisors Inc. now owns 2,108 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.21 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.33 and a 12 month high of $170.14. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $153.75 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.19. The company has a market cap of $40.45 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.55.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 30th. The restaurant operator reported $1.62 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.18 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 25.42% and a negative return on equity of 24.57%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 12.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.44 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Yum! Brands announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that allows the company to repurchase $4.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on YUM. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $174.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $175.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 12th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $174.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 7,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,831,674. This trade represents a 39.96% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Christopher Lee Turner sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $148.14, for a total transaction of $39,997.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 64,282 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,522,735.48. The trade was a 0.42% 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 ninety days, insiders have sold 18,549 shares of company stock worth $2,890,168. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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