AA Financial Advisors LLC Trims Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

AA Financial Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 34.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,532 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 801 shares during the quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $203,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Bfsg LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 79.8% during the 1st quarter. Ruedi Wealth Management Inc. now owns 187 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC raised its position in Yum! Brands by 165.7% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 186 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 1st quarter worth $28,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE YUM traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $137.42. The stock had a trading volume of 211,744 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,982,054. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $135.35. The company has a market capitalization of $38.70 billion, a PE ratio of 24.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.07. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1 year low of $115.53 and a 1 year high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The restaurant operator reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.33 by $0.02. Yum! Brands had a negative return on equity of 18.90% and a net margin of 21.96%. The company had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 15th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the restaurant operator to repurchase up to 5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,326.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, insider Scott Catlett sold 5,994 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.50, for a total transaction of $848,151.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 34,889 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,936,793.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sabir Sami sold 71,051 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.16, for a total value of $9,745,355.16. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,326.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,067 shares of company stock valued at $12,468,869. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. Evercore ISI lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to an “inline” rating and cut their price target for the company from $160.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $156.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $144.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $150.00 to $154.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $150.00 target price for the company. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $145.00.

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.