Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Stock Holdings Boosted by ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 148,064 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,814 shares during the quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. owned 0.05% of Yum! Brands worth $19,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth about $29,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 957.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 222 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Yum! Brands during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $125.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $143.20. The business has a 50-day moving average of $133.85 and a 200-day moving average of $133.66.

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

Yum! Brands Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital dropped their price target on Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $145.00 price target on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $154.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Citigroup reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 target price (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $146.24.

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.