SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Purchases Shares of 350 Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 350 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock, valued at approximately $47,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in Yum! Brands in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Safe Harbor Fiduciary LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Yum! Brands in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Yum! Brands by 52.1% during the 4th quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 295 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Yum! Brands during the 3rd quarter valued at about $42,000. Institutional investors own 82.37% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Price Performance

YUM opened at $157.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $139.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.52. 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 P/E ratio of 30.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.03.

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 given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.80%. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is 54.41%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Cowen reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of Yum! Brands from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $140.00 price target (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of Yum! Brands in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Yum! Brands from $160.00 to $176.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Fifteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Transactions at Yum! Brands

In other news, VP David Eric Russell sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 $1,897,573.60. The trade was a 29.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, COO Tracy L. Skeans sold 8,638 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $470,329.20. This trade represents a 74.41 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,654 shares of company stock valued at $7,659,176 in the last ninety days. 0.31% 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.