Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Purchased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 116,666 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $15,652,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 50,132 shares of company stock worth $7,952,685. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on YUM shares. Argus upgraded shares of Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, December 31st. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $146.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $151.79.

Yum! Brands Stock Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $155.72 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $43.46 billion, a PE ratio of 29.83, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $147.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.69. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 52 week low of $122.13 and a 52 week high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

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.