Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 8,704 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 13.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 72,830 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,704 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $9,771,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 0.7% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,638 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 6.5% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,079 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $2,526,000 after buying an additional 1,110 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 14,151.9% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 148,220 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,708,000 after acquiring an additional 147,180 shares during the last quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Yum! Brands by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 57,039 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $7,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,010 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 182.2% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 100,315 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,015,000 after acquiring an additional 64,771 shares during the last quarter. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM stock opened at $148.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $41.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.45, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $134.35 and its 200 day moving average is $135.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $151.29.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is presently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Redburn Atlantic downgraded Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

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.