Kingsview Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 8.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 11,200 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 857 shares during the quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $1,503,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,738 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,000 after acquiring an additional 512 shares during the last quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC boosted its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Joel Isaacson & Co. LLC now owns 5,084 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $682,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its position in Yum! Brands by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 34,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $4,686,000 after purchasing an additional 776 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 696,714 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $93,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,083 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 101 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In related news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were 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 owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Yum! Brands stock opened at $148.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a PE ratio of 28.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.10. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $132.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $133.93. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12 month low of $122.13 and a 12 month high of $148.19.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on YUM shares. TD Securities raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Argus upgraded Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $147.37.

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.