Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. Grows Stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,661 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,054 shares during the period. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $3,176,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew its position in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $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.

Yum! Brands Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $143.13 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $152.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $140.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.41%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of Yum! Brands stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 5th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. This trade represents a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 5,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.70, for a total value of $753,891.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 157,893 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,162,903.10. This trade represents a 3.15 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on YUM shares. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. 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. Cowen restated a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Yum! Brands presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $152.71.

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.