Allworth Financial LP Purchases 2,833 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Allworth Financial LP lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 38.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,163 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,833 shares during the quarter. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 182,130 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $25,445,000 after buying an additional 178,612 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 147,180 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 624.2% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 106,005 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,158,000 after purchasing an additional 91,367 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Markel Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 80.9% during the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 156,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $21,865,000 after purchasing an additional 70,000 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 research firms recently weighed in on YUM. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.27 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $133.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $134.64. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 51.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was 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 $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.