Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 559,718 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 8,661 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers’ holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $75,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in Yum! Brands by 33.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $636,000 after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 58.1% in the fourth quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 5,635 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $756,000 after buying an additional 2,071 shares during the last quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,735 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,306,000 after buying an additional 1,244 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 127,917 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,298,000 after buying an additional 6,571 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Buckhead Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $210,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of YUM opened at $147.80 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $133.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $149.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on YUM. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Bank of America cut their price target 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. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 target price (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

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.