Empower Advisory Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Empower Advisory Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,812 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 259 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 649.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 target price (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. The trade was a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $148.43 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $133.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $134.82. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $149.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a PE ratio of 28.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

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.