Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Acquired by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 6.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,064,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 120,434 shares during the period. Yum! Brands accounts for approximately 3.0% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $277,005,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Public Sector Pension Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 12.0% in the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,153 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 86.6% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 4,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Hilltop Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.9% in the third quarter. Hilltop Holdings Inc. now owns 1,821 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $254,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.9% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 55,799 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $7,777,000 after buying an additional 1,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario increased its position in Yum! Brands by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 9,414 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,315,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $158.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $44.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $149.08 and its 200 day moving average is $139.16. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 54.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $164.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Monday. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total transaction of $4,880,113.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

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.