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

Key Points

• Empowered Funds LLC has increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 7.7%, acquiring a total of 34,261 shares worth approximately $5.39 million.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Yum! Brands, with the Goldman Sachs Group upgrading the stock to a "buy" rating and a target price of $167.00, while several others have lowered their estimates.
• Yum! Brands recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, which will be paid on September 12th, reflecting a yield of 1.9%.

Empowered Funds LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 7.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,261 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after purchasing an additional 2,447 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $5,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 78.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 162 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Financial Gravity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on YUM. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Yum! Brands from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $167.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 4th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $153.00 to $151.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Yum! Brands from $170.00 to $165.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 6th. Finally, Melius began coverage on Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, July 14th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $161.23.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Weir Mirian M. Graddick sold 2,038 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.30, for a total transaction of $296,121.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 1,233 shares in the company, valued at $179,154.90. The trade was a 62.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott Mezvinsky sold 263 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $139.92, for a total value of $36,798.96. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 1,755 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $245,559.60. The trade was a 13.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,016 shares of company stock worth $4,271,543 in the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $149.03 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $146.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $148.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.36 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 0.73. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.46 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.94 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 18.11% and a negative return on equity of 21.01%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.35 EPS. Analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.94 EPS for the current year.

Yum! Brands Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 12th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is presently 56.02%.

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.

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