David Eric Russell Sells 5,000 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total transaction of $793,300.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.9 %

YUM traded up $1.44 on Wednesday, hitting $159.85. 1,302,225 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,899,623. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.88. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $164.08. The firm has a market cap of $44.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on YUM. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Loop Capital reduced their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $418,692,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $475,714,000 after buying an additional 601,361 shares during the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $59,289,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth approximately $43,944,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.