Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC Makes New $97,000 Investment in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 726 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $97,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT raised its stake in shares of 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 during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Yum! Brands stock opened at $147.27 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $133.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.64. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $149.30. The stock has a market cap of $41.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10.

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 issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Redburn Atlantic downgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Argus upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, TD Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $147.37.

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.