Candriam S.C.A. Sells 560 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Candriam S.C.A. trimmed its holdings in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,913 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 560 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $2,940,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in YUM. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 82.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,180.48. This represents a 90.32 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at $20,474,708.10. This trade represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

YUM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Friday, January 10th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Yum! Brands has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $150.42.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE:YUM opened at $162.67 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $138.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.38. The company has a market capitalization of $45.40 billion, a PE ratio of 31.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. This is an increase 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 54.41%.

Yum! Brands Company 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.