Mizuho Securities USA LLC Increases Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 45.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,450 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 8,218 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,549,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $816,392.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at $24,353,416.32. The trade was a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $156.75 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $143.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $137.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.03, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price objective (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

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.