Abacus Planning Group Inc. Cuts Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Abacus Planning Group Inc. cut its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 5.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,633 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 87 shares during the quarter. Abacus Planning Group Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $219,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 649.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 318 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 24.7% in the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 566 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.43 on Thursday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $41.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $133.87 and its 200 day moving average is $134.82.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on YUM. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. TD Securities increased their price target on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently 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.