Empowered Funds LLC Boosts Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 145.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,296 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 16,782 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of YUM. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 43.6% during the second quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 270 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 3,088.9% in the 2nd quarter. Iron Horse Wealth Management LLC now owns 287 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 278 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,005 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.43, for a total value of $941,682.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,634 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,518,588.62. This trade represents a 4.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock worth $2,842,965. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $137.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $145.94.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $134.01 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $123.70 and a 1 year high of $143.20. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $134.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.90 billion. Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.44 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.48 EPS for the current year.

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.