Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 12.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,398 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 376 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $456,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of YUM stock opened at $156.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.30. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.99 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.85.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $151.79.

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.