Yum! Brands, Inc. $YUM Stake Boosted by Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC

Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 331.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,942 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after buying an additional 6,100 shares during the period. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $706,799,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 19,419,826 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $2,938,139,000 after acquiring an additional 3,240,190 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth about $272,794,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 42.2% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,183,964 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $632,950,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240,777 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $168,604,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $165.77 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.10 and a beta of 0.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $156.45. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.33 and a 1-year high of $169.39.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The restaurant operator reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.11. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 23.51% and a net margin of 20.48%.The firm had revenue of $2.06 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.30 earnings per share. Yum! Brands's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 6.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, June 16th that authorizes the company to buyback $4.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 9.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 27th were paid a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 27th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.8%. Yum! Brands's payout ratio is currently 48.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sean Tresvant sold 3,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.68, for a total value of $464,040.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 3,140 shares in the company, valued at $485,695.20. The trade was a 48.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Aaron Powell sold 6,001 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $962,680.42. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 12,003 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,925,521.26. The trade was a 33.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,423 shares of company stock worth $1,953,721. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Evercore reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $177.00 target price on Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, June 16th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $176.12.

Yum! Brands 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding YUM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.