Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 19,210 Shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 944,749 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,210 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $126,746,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital International Sarl increased its holdings in shares of Yum! Brands by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 119,231 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $15,996,000 after purchasing an additional 5,583 shares in the last quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $413,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its stake in Yum! Brands by 68.5% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 5,508 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock valued at $739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,239 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 4th quarter valued at about $696,000. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Yum! Brands Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE:YUM opened at $147.54 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $151.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $140.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 0.90. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a 12-month low of $122.13 and a 12-month high of $163.30.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. This is a boost from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.41%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on YUM shares. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Yum! Brands from $176.00 to $174.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein downgraded Yum! Brands from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Yum! Brands from $138.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $152.62.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 30,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.46, for a total value of $4,880,113.84. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 160,296 shares in the company, valued at $25,560,800.16. The trade was a 16.03 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the vice president now owns 11,960 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 55,271 shares of company stock valued at $8,706,576. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.