David Eric Russell Sells 5,000 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM stock opened at $159.53 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $161.28. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $137.81 and its 200 day moving average is $136.04. The company has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a PE ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price objective (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Argus raised shares of 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. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.65.

Institutional Trading of Yum! Brands

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares during the period. Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.5% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after buying an additional 17,133 shares during the period. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at about $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its stake in 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 period. Finally, Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% 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.