Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Sells $1,367,913.68 in Stock

Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM traded up $3.41 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $162.67. 3,411,259 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,908,053. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52-week low of $122.13 and a 52-week high of $163.28. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $138.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.21. The firm has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.16, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

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 issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Yum! Brands

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of YUM. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Yum! Brands by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,604,632 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,021,194,000 after buying an additional 163,462 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 20.4% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,545,872 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $475,714,000 after acquiring an additional 601,361 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth $418,692,000. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,521,583 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $338,296,000 after purchasing an additional 24,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Yum! Brands by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,355,367 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $315,996,000 after purchasing an additional 94,026 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.