Truist Financial Corp Lowers Stock Position in Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM)

Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 100,494 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock after selling 2,649 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp’s holdings in Yum! Brands were worth $13,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,441,170 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $1,038,775,000 after purchasing an additional 111,147 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,632,862 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $228,127,000 after purchasing an additional 6,537 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 1,428,040 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $199,511,000 after purchasing an additional 51,690 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 835,800 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $116,770,000 after purchasing an additional 2,800 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Yum! Brands by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 696,714 shares of the restaurant operator’s stock worth $93,471,000 after purchasing an additional 7,083 shares during the period. 82.37% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Yum! Brands

In other Yum! Brands news, CEO David W. Gibbs sold 3,815 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $137.06, for a total value of $522,883.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 149,385 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,474,708.10. This represents a 2.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Yum! Brands Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:YUM opened at $151.08 on Friday. Yum! Brands, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $122.13 and a fifty-two week high of $151.29. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $134.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $134.93. The company has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a PE ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.10.

Yum! Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Yum! Brands’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Yum! Brands’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

YUM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Securities upped their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $140.00 to $151.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 7th. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Yum! Brands from $143.00 to $140.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $141.00 price target (down from $153.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Yum! Brands from $156.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective (down previously from $158.00) on shares of Yum! Brands in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $147.37.

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.