Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund decreased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 20.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 99,680 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 26,100 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in YUM. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $17,805,000 after buying an additional 17,133 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $14,825,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after purchasing an additional 20,966 shares during the period. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Yum! Brands by 15.1% during the third quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $6,066,000 after purchasing an additional 5,684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’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 value of $522,883.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $148.51 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $134.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $151.29.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.71 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on YUM shares. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic lowered Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands 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.