Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Position Lifted by Black Diamond Financial LLC

Black Diamond Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,473 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 198 shares during the quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $332,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter worth $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth 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 bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 649.0% during the fourth 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 boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the fourth 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. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.51 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $134.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.02. The company has a market cap 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 1 year low of $122.13 and a 1 year high of $151.29.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid 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 yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen 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, Yum! Brands has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Company 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.