Independence Bank of Kentucky Purchases 2,902 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Independence Bank of Kentucky lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 117.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,363 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 2,902 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $720,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 21.7% in the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,140 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $421,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the period. AA Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 28.7% in the 4th quarter. AA Financial Advisors LLC now owns 1,971 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $264,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $290,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $100,000. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its stake in Yum! Brands by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 154,104 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $20,675,000 after buying an additional 673 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 0.2 %

Yum! Brands stock opened at $130.48 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $132.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.55. The company has a market capitalization of $36.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $143.20.

Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 5th. The restaurant operator reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.41 by ($0.04). Yum! Brands had a net margin of 21.13% and a negative return on equity of 18.93%. The business had revenue of $1.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.90 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Yum! Brands, Inc. will post 5.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is currently 50.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Loop Capital cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Argus raised shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 31st. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total transaction of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands 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.