Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Sells $1,367,913.68 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total value of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,329.20. This represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $162.67 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $138.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.37.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on YUM. UBS Group upped their price objective on 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 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $150.42.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HBK Sorce Advisory LLC now owns 2,664 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. OLD Point Trust & Financial Services N A now owns 15,357 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,060,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 6,605 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Investment Partners LTD. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Investment Partners LTD. now owns 3,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $433,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bahl & Gaynor Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. now owns 1,575 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Yum! Brands

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.