Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $59.29 Million in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 441,928 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $59,289,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.16% of Yum! Brands at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in YUM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 352,400 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $49,234,000 after purchasing an additional 10,526 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 16,032 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 113.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $3,052,000 after purchasing an additional 11,631 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 769 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $107,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tyler Stone Wealth Management increased its holdings in Yum! Brands by 102.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tyler Stone Wealth Management now owns 1,724 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.66, for a total value of $793,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This represents a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 64 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,180.48. The trade was a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

Shares of YUM opened at $157.89 on Tuesday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 1-year low of $122.13 and a 1-year high of $163.30. The stock has a market cap of $44.07 billion, a PE ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.52.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 1.80%. Yum! Brands’s payout ratio is 54.41%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on YUM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average 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.