GLOBALT Investments LLC GA Acquires 112 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

GLOBALT Investments LLC GA lifted its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,442 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. GLOBALT Investments LLC GA’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $864,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter worth $77,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 19.1% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 3,161 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $424,000 after acquiring an additional 508 shares during the period. one8zero8 LLC acquired a new position in shares of Yum! Brands during the fourth quarter valued at $1,153,000. Choate Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 8,842 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Finally, Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Yum! Brands by 24.8% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 3,970 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 789 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

NYSE YUM opened at $157.23 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $43.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $141.55 and its 200-day moving average is $137.23. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a one year low of $122.13 and a one year high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Argus raised Yum! Brands from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $155.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 31st. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $130.00 to $148.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 28th. TD Securities upped their price target on Yum! Brands from $151.00 to $164.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and cut their price target for the company from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $150.95.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In related news, insider Erika Burkhardt sold 597 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.07, for a total transaction of $94,964.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 64 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,180.48. This trade represents a 90.32 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.36, for a total value of $1,367,913.68. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 2,970 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $470,329.20. The trade was a 74.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,839 shares of company stock valued at $7,136,292 over the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.