Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) Shares Acquired by Linscomb Wealth Inc.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. increased its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,644 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after buying an additional 649 shares during the quarter. Linscomb Wealth Inc.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,306,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 127,446 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $17,805,000 after purchasing an additional 17,133 shares during the last quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the third quarter worth $1,262,000. Forsta AP Fonden grew its position in Yum! Brands by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 110,500 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $14,825,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 689,631 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $96,348,000 after buying an additional 20,966 shares during the period. Finally, Infusive Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Yum! Brands by 15.1% in the 3rd quarter. Infusive Asset Management Inc. now owns 43,419 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $6,066,000 after buying an additional 5,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Yum! Brands

In other news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value 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 represents a 2.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Yum! Brands from $162.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Yum! Brands from $147.00 to $145.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target (down from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, TD Securities upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $147.37.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of YUM opened at $153.91 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $135.47. The stock has a market cap of $42.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.49, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $155.18.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.