National Pension Service Has $55.72 Million Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

National Pension Service cut its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 36.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 415,317 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 242,634 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.15% of Yum! Brands worth $55,719,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter worth about $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 649.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 318 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.6 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $153.91 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $155.18. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $135.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.47. The stock has a market cap of $42.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.85%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. TD Securities increased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their target price for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.