Amundi Increases Stock Holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Amundi boosted its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 23.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 749,895 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 144,406 shares during the period. Amundi owned 0.27% of Yum! Brands worth $95,792,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Yum! Brands by 52.1% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total value of $94,964.79. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total transaction of $1,367,913.68. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,654 shares of company stock worth $7,659,176 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Down 2.9 %

YUM opened at $157.89 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $44.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.25, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $139.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.52. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $122.13 and a twelve month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 54.41%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $141.00 price objective (down previously from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Redburn Atlantic lowered shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, TD Securities boosted their price target on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

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.