Quadrant Capital Group LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC reduced its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,364 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 129 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $183,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $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 in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $145.51 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $151.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $40.61 billion, a PE ratio of 27.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

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 dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.41%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares in the company, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,293 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.24, for a total value of $816,392.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 157,893 shares in the company, valued at $24,353,416.32. This represents a 3.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock valued at $7,952,685. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

YUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Thursday, February 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $152.24.

Yum! Brands 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.