Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lowered its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 75,714 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 900 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $10,158,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 31.7% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $252,272,000 after buying an additional 452,339 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,712,000 after purchasing an additional 255,495 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $30,098,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter valued at about $14,403,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’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 value of $793,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $159.53 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $44.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $161.28. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.04.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on YUM shares. TD Securities boosted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Fourteen 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.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.65.

About Yum! Brands

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.