J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 134 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 134 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $488,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its position 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 in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on YUM. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $148.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.10. 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.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

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.