Empowered Funds LLC Buys 16,782 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM - Free Report) by 145.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,296 shares of the restaurant operator's stock after acquiring an additional 16,782 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,953,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of YUM. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,164,159 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $419,123,000 after purchasing an additional 104,328 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 2nd quarter worth $7,645,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 140.1% in the 2nd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 126,550 shares of the restaurant operator's stock valued at $16,763,000 after buying an additional 73,844 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 18.2% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 50,807 shares of the restaurant operator's stock worth $6,730,000 after acquiring an additional 7,814 shares during the period. Finally, DoubleLine ETF Adviser LP bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at about $984,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:YUM traded down $1.88 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $132.13. The company had a trading volume of 1,159,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,565. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.52. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $123.70 and a one year high of $143.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.70, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 21.13%. The firm had revenue of $1.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.44 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, November 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $145.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $145.94.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total transaction of $959,600.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,307,396.90. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,069 shares of company stock valued at $2,842,965. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Yum! Brands 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.