Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Sold by Axxcess Wealth Management LLC

Axxcess Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 3.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,835 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 150 shares during the period. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 31.7% during the fourth quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,880,379 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $252,272,000 after acquiring an additional 452,339 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter worth about $59,289,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Yum! Brands by 140.3% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 437,625 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $58,712,000 after buying an additional 255,495 shares during the period. Anchor Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,098,000. Finally, Amundi boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 23.8% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 749,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $95,792,000 after buying an additional 144,406 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $156.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $43.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $143.99 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.82. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.41%.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180.48. This trade represents a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on YUM. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. 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. UBS Group increased their target price on Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

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.