Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Makes New $98,000 Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 728 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $98,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5,077.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 178,612 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 147,180 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,038,775,000 after acquiring an additional 111,147 shares during the last quarter. Markel Group Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 80.9% in the third quarter. Markel Group Inc. now owns 156,502 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $21,865,000 after acquiring an additional 70,000 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 907.3% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 76,416 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $10,252,000 after acquiring an additional 68,830 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $146.57 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $148.20. The company has a market capitalization of $40.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $132.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $134.21.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company 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 is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised 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 report on Tuesday, December 31st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 7,059 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $135.94, for a total value of $959,600.46. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,307,396.90. This represents a 4.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.